A Winery Grows In Brooklyn

[♥ COVID-19♥]

Here's something sure to piss-off The Merlot Man ...

Brooklyn Winery Lets City Dwellers Crush Grapes

Brooklyn's first winemaking center is now open for business in Williamsburg.

The 8,000-square-feet facility takes in grapes from across the country, and the staff guides visitors through each step of the winemaking process, from picking and crushing the grapes to bottling the wine.

The winery was started by two friends, John Stires and Brian Leventhal, who quit their web design jobs to take their winemaking hobby to a new level.

"We wanted to not only provide a place for people to drink their own wine, we really wanted to take it a step further and let them come and make their own wine. People come in, meet with our winemaker, discuss what they want to do and then they go through every stage of the process," said Stires.

They will soon be opening a wine bar for visitors who just want to come in and enjoy a glass without all the work.

For more information, visit bkwinery.com.

The link above has a video of their winery press and an interview with the boss. This place is just a few blocks from where I live, so it may be worth a visit for the wine bar.

[Merlot Joe]

Hey the more places to sell the shit, the better off it is for business.

Joe

[♥ COVID-19♥]

I'm given to understand that they *do* buy Merlot grapes from CA, so ....

[Merlot Joe]

Thats good. But it's a fucking pain to ship grapes that far. I don't have the time for it.

[Chicago Jake]

When my dad used to make wine, he always bought his grapes from California. Went down to the tracks and got them right off the train. But he usually got Zinfandel.

[Merlot Joe]

Here's why it is a pain in the ass this year. We have a little bug here causing us some shit.

Joe

Shipment of Winegrapes Out of Sonoma County
If you fall into one of the following categories:

Grower shipping wine grapes out of state

Grower within the LBAM quarantine area shipping wine grapes to an area in California not under LBAM quarantine

Grower within the EGVM quarantine area, shipping wine grapes to a county not under EGVM quarantine (EGVM quarantine counties as of 8/16/10 include Fresno, Lake, Mendocino, Merced, Napa, San Joaquin, Solano, and Sonoma) OR are shipping to a county not issuing EGVM compliance agreements to their wineries (call the receiving county agricultural commissioner to find out)
Please call the Agricultural Commissioner’s office at [phone], and leave a voice message with the following information:

Business name

Vineyard address, and number of acres to be harvested for shipment

Call back phone number

Expected date of harvest

Where the shipment is going; the state or the county

Billing address and contact name if different than above

Movement of fresh grapes from an EGVM quarantine area, out of state, or to a county in California that is not issuing EGVM compliance agreements to their wineries, is permitted under the following conditions:

Grapes must be hand harvested and must be transported in refrigerated conveyances

Shipments of grapes may not include any material other than grapes, including leaves, litter, culls, debris, etc.

Grape bunches must be trimmed clear of all material other than grapes

Grapes must be certified with the placement of a diamond stamp on each container; Interstate shipments must also be accompanied by a Federal Shield
To qualify for certification vineyards must:

Be distanced 200 meters or more from the boundary of a vineyard with an EGVM detection

Have an existing Integrated Pest Management program targeting EGVM

Be inspected (a minimum of 300 bunches must be inspected every 14 days)

Be trapped (1 trap/5 acres, 2 traps minimum) for EGVM prior to harvest (there will be a fee for the placement and servicing of traps using this protocol to ship out of the quarantine area; the fee is $26.00 per hour)

Notification of Transportation or Receiving of Wine Grapes
Wine Grape Growers

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