Where to Find the Coolest Urban Wineries in the U.S.

[Celerity]

Sip pét-nat in a refurbished garage and never look back.

https://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/best-urban-wineries-in-the-us


Mural City Cellars

While some of the world’s best wines come from picturesque vineyards in rural Italy and France, planning a trip to a far-flung wine country isn’t always easy. Maybe you can’t take time off work. Perhaps the airfare is too expensive, or it’s a bit too ambitious to try to go to Burgundy for the weekend. Fortunately, accessing wonderful wine closer to home has become a lot simpler. Urban wineries continue to open in cities across the country. Often set up in converted garages, warehouses, or production facilities, these operations are located in the heart of their cities. They may have a tasting room but no vineyards, sourcing grapes from growers in wine regions around the country. Best of all, many urban wineries produce not only some exciting wines, but also offer fun, interactive tasting experiences. These are nine of the best urban wineries in America.

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Chicago Winery

Chicago, Illinois

Opened in fall 2022, Chicago Winery is the newest project from First Batch Hospitality, the folks behind the Brooklyn Winery, which has been pouring in New York City since 2010. Located in the heart of bustling River North, blocks from the Chicago River and the Loop, the complex includes a restaurant, Liva, plus a tasting bar, four-season rooftop, and glass-enclosed, 2,000-square-foot winemaking facility and barrel room. The wines are produced onsite but grapes come from around America, so you might get a Pinot Noir made from Sonoma grapes or a Riesling that hails from New York’s Finger Lakes region. The team aims to produce 3,500 cases in the first year, from such varieties as Chardonnay, Malbec, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Mourvédre.

Enso Winery

Portland, Oregon

In a place rich with urban wineries—Hip Chicks Do Wine, Teutonic Wine Company, and Division Wine Making Company are among the 30 within city limits—Enso presents like more of a cool wine bar than production facility. It just happens to make its own wine and serves those alongside other well-curated selections from around the world, as well as local beers and ciders. Unlike many other urban wineries, you can only taste Enso’s wines on site at its facility in a converted garage in Portland’s Buckman neighborhood. Opened in 2011, the winery uses grapes sourced up and down the West Coast. You can get wines by the glass or bottle, plus flights featuring a Mourvédre rosé, a white blend of Pinot Gris, Muller-Thurgau and Gewurztraminer, a red blend with Petite Sirah and Malbec, or a full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines change often, so there’s often something new to experience each visit.

Hana Makgeolli

Brooklyn, New York

Alice Jun started homebrewing makgeolli, an unfiltered Korean rice wine, just as her father did while she was growing up. When it got too much for her New York apartment, she and business partner, John Limb, opened Hana in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint neighborhood in 2020. While some compare makgeolli to beer, Jun aligns it more with wine. Hana’s offerings are made from organic rice, water, and a Korean fermentation starter called nuruk, and can ferment anywhere from 28-70 days, resulting in a range of flavors and levels of alcohol. The signature, Takju 16, clocks in at 16% ABV and is a cloudy, medium-bodied dry pour with melon and green apple notes. The clarified Yakju 14 goes through a five-stage brewing process before fermenting for at least 60 days, resulting in a light, dry-bodied wine with melon, citrus, and grain flavors. Hana ships nationwide, but the minimalist Brooklyn tasting room offers makgeolli by the glass, carafe, or mixed into cocktails alongside a variety of anju, or small plates meant to be had with alcohol, like pajeon (scallion and garlic chive pancake) or garibijang (soy-cured scallop crudo).

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