A new trend? Maybe not that new. Actually, the Americans have been doing it for quite some time. But now, it’s getting closer to us, with London being the next winemaking city. And using French grapes! An urban wine can be defined as such when the winemaking process is being done at the very heart of a large city, sourcing the grapes from proper vineyards (in the countryside, please).
The idea comes from the alliance of Australian winemaker Gavin Monery, London Fine Wine Merchant Roberson, and investor Will Tomlinson. The 300m² winery will be conveniently located under Roberson Wine’s HQ, in what used to be a gin distillery, a couple of blocks from Hyde Park. Fairly urban indeed!
Grapes will be sourced from the South-West of France (Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Syrah from Languedoc-Roussillon, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc from Bordeaux), and shipped across the Channel in the next 36 hours after hand-picking. 17,000 bottles of “London Cru” are expected to be released as a first 2013 vintage (by mid-2014).
Before the English capital, New-York has had the City Winery (with grapes from California, Oregon and NY State), Brooklyn the Red Hook Winery (Long Island grapes), Dallas the Times Ten Cellars (locally sourced, really?!), San Francisco the Bluxome Street Winery (sourced from Sonoma and Russian River valleys), and Seattle the Cadence Winery (from Washington State obviously!), just to mention a few…
