BROOKLYN WINERY

Co-owner John Stires did some extracurricular winemaking before he and Brian Leventhal, linked by their stints at ExpoTV, took it to the next level and founded the Brooklyn Winery. The 6000 sq. ft. winery, restaurant, and event space opened its doors in October 2010. The winery’s immediate predecessor in what, from the street, resembles a warehouse was a seedy nightclub called “Supreme Trading.” Only a disco ball remains of that iteration. The winery is a comfortable multi-level space with a courtyard that doubles as a dock for receiving and crushing climate-controlled truckloads of grapes.

The Disco Ball

We sampled the three house-made wines on tap, especially liking pleasantly dry “Untitled” Finger Lakes Riesling and a jammy Zinfandel from Lodi, CA fruit. Bartender Greg told us that there’ll be a new-release Merlot in about two months. The printed menu showcases an international selection of wines by the glass that offers very good value for price, plus thoughtfully chosen, high-quality food offerings. One can order a yummy snack or a satisfying meal.

In 2011 Brooklyn Winery’s Finger Lakes Riesling and Chardonnay won gold medals at the New York State Food and Wine Festival. Winemaker Conor McCormack brings a Northern California sensibility to what he does, specializing in boutique custom crush operations and micro-lot fermentations. He likes to experiment, e.g., by aging the same wine in steel plus two different wood barrels. McCormack aims not only to produce the best wine possible from the best fruit available, but also to demonstrate the different styles of wine that can be made from the same fruit.

Clients' Wines

Brooklyn Winery offers an array of winemaking packages tailored to clients’ budgets and the degree to which they want to participate in the process.

213 N. 8^th St., Brooklyn, NY 11211 (about a 10-minute subway ride from Union Square)  M-Th 5pm – 12 am, F 5pm – 1 am, Sa 1pm-1am, Su 1pm-12am. The kitchen closes an hour early. 347-763-1506

THE BARREL ROOM AT CITY WINERY

This is our kind of place! We’d barely removed our hats and gloves when friendly bartender Saida brought us tastes of City Winery’s Petit Syrah. Soon we were sipping out way through the lineup, guided by Raul Mesias, Director of Wine Sales. Soothed by gentle rumblings from the No. 2 subway below, we tasted ten wines on tap: two featuring New York State grapes, the rest from California. Our favorites were Finger Lakes, NY Cabernet Franc; Lake County, CA Barrel-aged Sauvignon Blanc; and Lodi, CA Petit Syrah. The comprehensive wine list offers much more by the glass and around 500 bottles representing the best of what just about anyone could want to drink.

The Bar

Bottle Lamps, Streetside at Dusk

The Barrel Room restaurant and tasting bar is a very recent addition to this 21,000-foot space, which Michael Dorf of Knitting Factory fame opened as an urban winery and nightly music venue in 2008. City Winery specializes in barrel ownership, offering hands-on experience in the winemaking process and of course private labels to document the results. Winemaker David Lecomte hails from the Rhone Valley, but he’s open to working with grapes from anywhere, provided that they can be properly transported. A barrel (average price around $8000) yields 252 bottles – quite a lot of a single wine, but barrel owners automatically become “members” in the winery and are invited to classes and private events where they can informally trade wine amongst themselves.

In August 2012 City Winery will open a new spot in Chicago’s West Loop. Meanwhile, check here for current information about the NYC winery's hours and events. 155 Varick St. between Spring and Vandam 212.608.0555