Manhattan’s very own winery :

Chinese Translation : 曼哈顿的酿酒屋

02/03/10

Wine tourism : David Lecomte, who hails from the Rhone region of France, makes wine in central New York, in a complex which also includes a restaurant and musical entertainment : a breath-taking feat indeed.

In a building located just a stone’s throw from Wall Street, on the South side of Manhattan, at the heart of New York City, David Lecomte is busy in his barrel cellar. In the building next door stand fifteen stainless steel vats. These are not scenes from a new Hollywood film, but a real sign of the unrestrained universal nature of wine production.

“City Winery opened in April 2008. millions of dollars were invested to convert this former printing works, where eight layers of paint covered the woodwork,” jokes wine-maker David Lecomte, whose tired look is one of a man who never stops all day (1).

This unique venue in Manhattan is the brainchild of Michael Dorf, a born-and-bred New Yorker who made his fortune in the music industry. In order to bring this concept of wine tourism in the midst of skyscrapers to fruition, Mr.Dorf called upon Rhone-born David Lecomte, who has been a wine-maker in the US for the last eight years, first in California, and now at the foot of the Statue of Liberty.

“City Winery combines four elements : a cellar where clients can make their own wines, a concert hall with a raised stage for performers, a wine bar and restaurant, and finally a team who organise private parties or events like weddings,” explains David. The place itself is on two levels (ground floor and basement), and is both spacious and elegant, like a large loft with a high ceiling, warm natural (pale wood) colours which offset the metal structure on the ceiling and provides seating for 350 people!

“If we divide up the area with partitions, we can house up to five separate events at the same time,” adds the oenology graduate from the Montpellier wine school, who hasn’t forgotten the initial teething problems caused by the economic crisis breakout at the end of 2008.

Jet-setting grapes :

It is hardly surprising that the City Winery makes its own wine, as it aims to take advantage of the fact that Americans are more and more attracted to this beverage, which already accounts for two thirds of the total number of drinks consumed by the establishment’s clientèle today. 200 customers have taken it a step further by buying a 225 litre barrel with a view to producing their own bottled brew. The technical work from start to finish (the label) costs between 27 and 37 dollars per bottle (2). The bestselling batches are those of pinot noir and cabernet-sauvignon. But where do the grapes come from? In September 2008 and 2009, bunches of grapes harvested in lightweight crates in Oregon and California crossed the country in one week in refrigerated trucks. Last March, grapes from Argentina arrived after three weeks onboard a ship.

This coming Spring, Chilian grapes will be arriving by plane, and perhaps even bunches from Burgundy and the Rhone Valley will follow suit this Autumn.

In Manhattan, this kind of unprecedented activity does not appear to pose any problems whatsoever : ventilators expel the carbon dioxide gas produced during vinification ; stems and pressed skins finish up as compost, following the same route as kitchen waste ; lees (sediments) are even used in some dishes.

Projects already abound : cookery classes upstairs, seminars on blending techniques, making hand-drawn wine available to customers, and even another City Winery in Chicago.

(1) www.citywinery.com

(2) Crushpad developed a similar concept in California and aims to establish itself in Bordeaux.

PHOTO : (C.C) : David Lecomte, wine-maker at the City Winery : “I believe in selling hand-drawn wine at the bar.”

César Compadre in New York, 02/03/2010

Author:César Compadre
Photo:DR SO

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