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Last night the City Winery opened its slightly unfinished doors to the press, revealing New York's only fully functioning winery/venue. Downstairs in a temperature-controlled room, casks of wine made on the premises were being stored...some of it for customers who had already purchased their own. (Customers like Lou Reed.) That's right, possibly the best thing about this place is that you can put your name on a barrel and come tap into it whenever you like...for a price, of course.
There are four ownership/membership packages that can reach up to $15,000 on the high end. The less expensive ones are the "Barrel Share," which for $1500 gives you a sixth-share of a barrel; and the "Basic" plan, which gives you a cask for an annual fee of $5,000 (plus additional cost of grapes, barrels and labeling--which will bring you closer to $8-10,000). You'll get about 260 bottles of wine from the barrel, coming to around $35 a piece. Not bad for a bottle of wine you will have the opportunity to make yourself, from crushing to labeling (watch here).
As for the food, the menu is still being worked on, but Murray's Cheese Shop is already on board, as is chef Andres Barrera. For the entertainment, owner Michael Dorf (formerly of the Knitting Factory) announced the first pages of their music programming last night, which will include klemzer Sunday brunches and the likes of Suzanne Vega, Phillip Glass, Rufus Wainwright. And to kick it all off on New Year's Eve will be Joan Osborne. There will even be an option to choose your own table while purchasing tickets on their website. One catch: To get first notice of these events (or the wine classes offered), you have to be a VinoFile member, which costs $50 annually.
City Winery is located at 143 Varick Street, between Spring and Vandam Streets. It opens to the public on December 31st.
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Hmm, $35 / bottle for wine you have to make yourself using grapes grown who knows where in some neophyte winery, when for $10 I can get a bottle of wine made in France by people who have been growing their own grapes and making wine for hundreds of years? Sign me up!!!
Joan Osborne? Are we talking about New Years Eve 1997?
Time share wine barrels are the first thing I tend to cut back on in tough economic times.
Bummer - I thought this would be a setup like you see in France (or the Bowery Whole Foods for beer) where you bring your own container and get cheap, respectable table wine.
My wine is better than your wine so there. Nice concept, poor timing.
Actually the fools that buy into this thing are just that, fools. It's not really their wine. They didn't grow the grapes, they didn't harvest the grapes, they didn't press the grapes, they didn't draw off the juice, they didn't sit and wait as the crud settled to the bottom, they didn't cork the bottles, they didn't do shit except call it their own wine. But then again for $35 a bottle I guess it's OK.
Seriously, with all the fantastic wine available in this city, why would anyone go for this, if not to display uncouth, pompous, and uninformed bourgeois tastes?
And I don't even want to know where or how they trucks those grapes in during this cold.
Is it still 1999? Can I buy into this really cool concept before my AOL stock options get swallowed up in the Time Warner merger?
I know this place a little and there is some bogus information here, not to mention enough cynicism to sink a ship! If you haven't been somewhere or really looked into it stop bitching and trashing, what's the point???
The grapes are from top vineyards in CA or OR. They are shipped to NYC in special refrigerated trucks so they stay intact without continuing to ripen. All the crushing, pressing, fermentation, barreling, etc is done on site in NYC. Go see for yourself, it's really cool.
Of course you can buy great wines in the bottle from all over the world at terrific prices. That's not the point. Many people want to experience and learn the craft of winemaking and have their own barrel at the end. Some people only listen to music, others learn to play an instrument and try it for themselves. I bought a barrel and yes, it was pretty expensive (about $30/bottle) but it's like going to grad school. I've already learned a TON about winemaking and we're not even halfway through the process. Between the classes, barrel tastings, one-n-one with the winemaker (David, very cool guy) and lectures with famous winemakers who visit I am thrilled about the whole thing, even after dropping $8000 in a recession!
If you're really into wine I don't see how you can't go check this place out, it's awesome. The food is decent, the wine list is amazing (read Eric Asimov's blog) And after seeing Medeski, Martin, Wood in concert blow the place away the other night I'm sold.