City Winery: A Venue for Wine Tasting, Interviews, Performances
An Interview with Founder and CEO, Michael Dorf
Every Sunday morning, I faithfully watch NBC Sunday Morning with Willie Geist. I began to notice that several of the celebrity interviews (including a recent one with Chef Ina Garten) were taking place at City Winery, New York City. I wanted to understand this winery/performance venue concept. It is unique in the world. The City Winery locations include Nashville, Hudson Valley, Atlanta, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. City Winery’s concept revolves around delivering a combined culinary and cultural experience to urban wine enthusiasts.
Last week I conducted an interview with City Winery CEO/Founder, Michael Dorf. Our conversation surrounded the City Winery founding, their custom winemaking process, the selection of growers and grapes, and the celebrity and non-profit performances held there. I hope you enjoy this interview and visit City Winery on your next visit to the stated cities. Wine Shop Recommendations (which can be shipped) are below.
“We started 18 years ago. I came out of the music industry [for 40 years]. ‘The profits are in the popcorn.’ Whether you go to a stadium or a concert, the real profit and the way to pay the bills is the sale of food and beverages…..Simultaneously I had a real hankering about 20 years ago to get into winemaking and really matched up the idea of urban wine making and live event production. That was the birth of City Winery in New York City in 2008. My timing was impeccably terrible. Our first grapes arrived the harvest of Fall 2008 the exact week that Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy and the beginning of financial crisis…..Luckily people love wine. We make really, really high-end wine at a very good value and the concept took off. Then after a couple of years, I opened up a facility in Chicago, and then came Nashville, Atlanta, Boston, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, St. Louis… In 2020 we opened our first non-city location in Hudson Valley, New York, a location which became our main production hub on a 22-acre, beautiful site of an old knitting factory.” – Michael Dorf, Founder/CEO, City Winery.
Selection of AVAs (American Viticultural Areas) and Growers for City Winery
“Terroir, place, and what is grown there is critical for wine….One of the advantages of being an urban winery…We go to where the terroir is best [in the US] for a particular grape. In California of course Napa is known for its Cabernet, Bordeaux Blends, and Merlot, and on the Sonoma Coast, they are known for Chardonnay or Pinot Noir. Syrah comes from either Mendocino or the Central Coast of California, but also really great Syrahs are grown in the Walla Walla range of Washington. Reisling does not do really well in California, but it does very well in Michigan and up in New York, the Finger Lakes. We have about 35 different vineyards that we have contracts with. We focus on: what is the grape that grows best in their terroir?” – Michael Dorf, Founder/CEO, City Winery.
“It’s a thrill to work with NBC Comcast on the Willie Geist program.” —Michael Dorf, Founder/CEO, City Winery.
“We continue to grow combining live entertainment, music and comedy with winemaking and culinary. We do quite a lot of private events.” – Michael Dorf, Founder/CEO, City Winery.
About Michael Dorf, Founder CEO, City Winery
City winery is the brainchild of Michael Dorf, founder of the iconic Knitting Factory, one of New York’s longest running music venues. After making his first barrel of wine in California with his brother Josh and winemaker David Tate, formerly of Ridge Winery and now at Barnett Vineyards, Michael caught [the winemaking] bug. He started to work on the City Winery business plan in 2006 with its official launch in 2008 in SoHo Manhattan. The New Yorker has said Michael “perfected the art of the tribute concert.” Over 13 years, the fundraiser series has honored legends like Aretha Franklin, Leonard Cohen, and Prince while raising over $1.5 million for such music education programs as the American Symphony Orchestra’s Music Notes, Church Street School for Music and Art, Young Audiences New York, Fixing Instruments for Kids in Schools, Little Kids Rock and the Center for Arts Education.
City Winery Wine Shop Recommendations
City Winery Reserve Zinfandel “Cuvée Bacigalupi” Russian River Valley, Sonoma $48
One of the finest growers in Russian River: Helen & Charles Bacigalupi. City Winery suggests you pair it with Root Beer Marinated Pulled Pork, Spicy Chicken Mole Enchiladas, or a Poblano Cheese Quesadilla. Red Zinfandel stands up well to spicy food.
City Winery Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, $65
The vineyard for this wine is located far west of Yountville AVA of Napa Valley where grapes were originally first planted in 1836. This is a full-bodied wine with notes of dark plum, black cherries, blackberries and hints of vanilla, brown spice (cloves and cinnamon) and cocoa.
2022 Reserve Chardonnay Cuvée Scopus, Sonoma Mountain, CA $32
Grapes are grown in the Scopus Vineyard in the Sonoma Mountain AVA overlooking the historic Valley of the Moon. This wine is 2/3 fermented in new and neutral French Oak and 1/3 in concrete giving an opulent bright pineapple character to the wine with hints of toasted bread, fresh flowers, pastry dough, and grilled coconut. This wine would pair well with Lemon Risotto or Baked Brie with Honey on Toasted Brioche.
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Hi Michael, Thanks for sharing your experience. I'll want to see the Nashville venue too. Tricia
We saw so many fantastic shows at the City Winery when we lived in Nashville. Just saw Rodney Crowell is playing the City Winery in NYC and that may be worth a weekend trip to see a play and catch a great artist in a fantastic venue!