I’m pleased to see that wine is now being made in Downtown, USA. This article from the NY Times online reports the appearance of local wines made in big cities, just a bus ride away from the consumer.
Readers of this blog know that I make my own wine at home. I buy the grapes in a co-op purchase;
watch them go through a crusher set up in someone’s parking lot or backyard;
and take them home to my apartment. The other co-op winemakers do the same. I wrote a poem about it a while ago. Of course, my family has to tolerate two big barrels in the living room for several days.
Then there’s a holy mess in the kitchen when I press the juice out of the grapes.
And there are the carboys, taking up space around the house but providing a conversation starter when receiving guests (“And how’s the wine coming along?”).
I love traveling to visit wineries, as a recent post shows. But most are only accessible by car, which means planning a few hours to get there, do a little tour, taste some wine, choose a bottle or 6, and take it home. I easily admit that my home-made wine doesn’t nearly reach the excellence of professionally-made wine, but it’s still pretty good, and worth the effort to make. I also love to know that other people here are making wine at home.
Now if only there were more urban wineries in Israel…I hear there’s a good one in Ramat HaChayal…
