A Winery Grows In Brooklyn

The following story appeared on NY1 news -- click the link below to check out their Web site and watch a video about the new winery.

Right in my neighborhood in The BK, you can now make your own wine ...

Brooklyn Winery Lets City Dwellers Crush Grapes

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

Staff members at the 8,000-square-feet facility guide visitors through each step of the winemaking process.

The winery was started by two friends, John Stires and Brian Leventhal, who quit their web jobs earlier this year to take their winemaking hobby to a new level. They found an old nightclub on North 8th Street, just in time for the fall grape harvest.

"It was scary. There were times when I was backing out and John was pulling me back in and vice versa, but we had to do it," said Leventhal.

"There's been a lot of skeptics but with our friends and family we've had nothing but great support from them," said Stires.

The pair brought in a winemaker from northern California. The grapes come from there too, as well as from Long Island and the Finger Lakes wine regions.

They are planning 10 varietals, which they hope to sell at restaurants, wine shops and their own wine bar right inside the winery. A big part of it all is allowing folks to hop into winemaking.

"People come in, meet with our winemaker, literally go through discuss how they want to craft their wine," said Leventhal.

Depending on the number and variety of grapes used, the wine will cost about $600 for 24 bottles and up to $5,700 for a full barrel -- about 300 bottles. The wine will be hand-bottled and corked when it is ready.

The first batch of white wines will be ready next summer and reds will be ready about a year from now.

"We have to wait until the summer until the wine is done and I want to try it sooner," said one winemaker.

Some late harvest grapes will soon arrive at the winery, including Cabernet Sauvignon and zinfandel.

For more information, visit www.bkwinery.com.