Rooms lined with oak barrels and racks of bottles aging wine provide an inviting backdrop to any event, but getting to wine country isn’t always an option. Urban wineries are popping up in cities across the U.S., making the feel—and tastes—of the vineyards more accessible. Here are a selection of wineries that pair the ambience of wine country with a sleek city setting.
City Winery Chicago is doing more than just making wine in the Windy City’s West Loop neighborhood. The urban winery blends wine, music and culinary arts with the Barrel Room Wine Bar & Restaurant, a concert venue with a stage that hosts live entertainment regularly, an outdoor patio that can accommodate 300 people and ample private event space. The 33,000-square-foot fully operational winery opened in 2012 in what was once a refrigerated food distribution warehouse.
“The use of barrels, bottles, exposed brick and wood gives the feel of being in wine country, but in the heart of Chicago,” said Dan Conroe, marketing director for City Winery.
For meetings, receptions, workshops and banquets, there is the Main Dining Room, equipped with a bar and oak barrels aging the house wine; the Barrel Room for smaller groups up to 35; the Winery itself, ideal for wine tastings and winery tours; the Mezzanine, which offers views of the Chicago skyline, natural light and equipped with its own private bar; as well as the Patio and the concert venue space, which can accommodate 350 guests standing. City Winery is also a local community and nonprofit supporter offering reduced rates for fundraisers and auctions from 40 to 500.
The San Francisco Bay Area knows wine, but most think of Napa or Sonoma counties to the north when talking wineries. At Bluxome Street Winery, in San Francisco’s SOMA district, groups can get the winery experience without leaving the city. The SOMA neighborhood actually has a history of California winemaking, with dozens of wineries and commercial cellars throughout until many were destroyed in the 1906 earthquake, and those that were left were shuttered due to the 18th Amendment. Until recently. “We are the first winery to make wine back in the city of San Francisco since Prohibition,” explained Caitlin Ryan, special events coordinator for Bluxome Street Winery.
The tasting room at the 3,000-square-foot facility overlooks the working winery and is open to the public for tastings, flights of wine and small bites. The 1,300-square-foot Winery Floor is available to groups for private events and the space is equipped with a full kitchen, sound system, audiovisual capabilities and the use of tasting room tables and chairs. Catering from high-end cuisine and tapas to food trucks can be brought in, along with event suppliers for rentals, DJs, AV production and photography. The winery also has a tasting room and event space for up to 80 at the city’s famous Ghirardelli Square near Fisherman’s Wharf.
Set in The Yards, a neighborhood in Washington, D.C.’s Navy Yard along the Anacostia River, is District Winery, scheduled to open this fall. In what will be D.C.’s only operational commercial winery, the newly constructed venue will offer tours, a restaurant and private event space.
Groups of up to 300 can host events such as galas, fundraisers, receptions, teambuilding and seminars at the venue, with views of the river and wine in hand that is made right on-site. The upstairs space includes a wraparound outdoor terrace featuring a green roof. Inside, guests can look into the production space and barrel room. All catering will be done in-house and standard decor includes chairs and custom-made tables.
