The Bay Area is California’s new wine country
The average mileage from downtown San Francisco to one of the Bay Area's urban wineries is a little over 10 miles.
The average mileage from downtown San Francisco to one of California's tradtional wineries is a little over 125 miles.
When people think of wine country they often picture quiet and rural areas, rolling hills, vineyards as far as the eye can see. Who would have thought there was a wine country of its own located in right in the midst of the busy streets of the San Francisco Bay Area. Unlike traditional wineries located in places like Napa and Sonoma counties “urban wineries” are not found near any sort vineyard. Instead they ship the grapes in from all parts of California and then make the wine in cities, a convenient location for urban wine lovers.
Instead of bringing the people to the wine, urban wineries bring the wine to the people. This new trend in wineries found in cities all over the Bay Area including San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkley. Grapes are brought by the truck load to warehouses that have been transformed into wine making facilities. There the grapes under go the same process that they would at the more traditional wineries, juicing, fermentation and barrel storage. Most of the wineries have tasting rooms as well, which provide a space for wine makers to promote their products and for wine lovers to indulge. Because urban wineries are less traditional they often offer unique blends and more experimental wine.
Treasure Island winery is an urban winery with a one of a kind location on the man made island off of the bay bridge. Brothers James and Paul Mirowski and are the owners along with their chocolate lab Buck. They opened their business about two years ago, James said they just happened to be at the right place at the right time. Along with their own brand of wine, TI wines, which offers a Sonoma pinot noir, there are four other brands who use their facilities as well to make their wine: Morningwood, Sol Rouge, Vie, and Blue Cellars.
James explained that besides the great view of the city, the location Treasure Island offers other benefits. The temperature on the island which remains between 55 and 64 degrees fahrenheit because of the bay which creates the ideal environment for storing wine. This eliminates the need for a pricy cooling system which uses up lots of energy. TI winery prides itself on being green conscious. Not only do they use a lot less energy then most wineries but there is a garden across the street from them who uses all of the left over skins and seed from the wine left over after fermentation for compost.
When asked how the economy has effected this young company, James said that the economic state has actually improved business. He explains that less people are planning trips to places like Napa because the price of traveling and wine tasting is just out of the question. Instead wine lovers are turning to places that are closer and less expensive. The bottles sold here range from 19 to 48 dollars. James believes that the days of bottles of wines that cost 100 plus dollars are over, people are watching how they spend their money these days.
The atmosphere at TI wines is informal some people come in to sample a few wines while others just buy and bottle and then head out for a picnic by the bay. This is one of many urban wineries in the Bay Area. A group of 15 urban wineries from the East Bay, banned together in order to better their businesses and promote the relatively new concept of wineries located in Bay Area cities. East Bay Vintner’s Alliance includes Rosenblum Cellars who was alone in its venture when it opened in 1978. Today this urban winery is considered a pioneer in this Bay Area business and is also known for its expertise in Zinfandels. Another member of the group is Periscope Cellars whose facility is an old World War II submarine repair facility located in Emeryville. Like other urban wineries Periscopes owner, Brendan Eliason, does not believe in charging for wine tasting.
Crushpad is a San Francisco Winery with a twist. Unlike other urban wineries located in the Bay Area, any one can make their own wine at Crushpad. This place offers its wine making facilities to both people who wish to make a profession out of it and to people who just want to pick up a hobby on the weekend. They offer their client a freedom to get only as involved as they wish to, people can make wine here without ever stepping foot in the building. Their online tools provide are convenient so that no matter where you are you can take care of your wine. Professional staff members provide guidance and take care of most of the dirty work.
Wine tasting is a hobby that anyone (over 21) can enjoy. But why take a long drive and pay for a hotel when there are a wide range of wineries here in the Bay Area? Urban wineries are more than just a trend they are the new way of looking at wine making and tasting. Urban Wineries can be found all over the country, I predict that these businesses will continue to grow and increase in popularity as people start to change their perceptions from the idea of wine country to urban wine country.
An audio slide show tour of Treasure Island Winery
This audio slide show takes you on a tour of the urban winery found on treasure island.
