City Winery Hudson Valley

On Sunday, April 24, 2022, we drove to City Winery in Montgomery, New York to experience their MADE Hudson Valley Spring 2022 event. MADE Hudson Valley is a special event highlighting the wine made at City Winery Hudson Valley and curated artisanal products from the area and is held in the Spring and Fall.  

While we had been to City Winery in New York City many times to attend concerts and have dinner, this was our first time visiting their Hudson Valley location. Located in a former wool mill, City Winery in Montgomery, New York is an attractive red brick space where interesting architectural details pay homage to its former use. 

City Winery Tasting Room

For the MADE Hudson Valley Spring 2022 event, we opted for the special VIP package that included a Private Winery Tour, Curated Tasting Experience that included four wines and small pairing bites presented by City Winery Winemaker Travis Van Caster and Sous Chef Dave Unumb, and two bottles of City Winery's award-winning wines to bring home to enjoy.  

The VIP Tasting with Winemaker Travis Van Caster and Sous Chef Dave Unumb 

Winemaker Travis Van Caster

The Wine and Food Pairing tasting presented by City Winery Hudson Valley's Winemaker Travis Van Caster and Sous Chef Dave Unumb gave attendees an interesting and very tasty introduction to the wines made on the premises, as well as their focus on food. 

At the tasting we learned that since they are in urban areas, they do not grow their own grapes, so their focus is on partnering with high-quality grape producers and buying their grapes or juice. Travis explained that for their white wines, they bring in grapes and crush them onsite to prevent long contact with the grape skins, whereas for red wines, they bring in the juice to create their wines. 

The VIP Tasting Menu 

First Course

Paired with Old Chatham Ricotta with Pistachio & Truffle Honey 

2019 "Montgomery Mills" Riesling

Old Chatham Ricotta with Pistachio & Truffle Honey

The 2019 "Montgomery Mills" Riesling, 11.5% alcohol, was made at City Winery from grapes from the Uvas Blancas Vineyard in the Finger Lakes, New York just outside of Watkins Glen. This was a heady aromatic wine with floral, citrus, and mineral notes on the nose and the palate. Its sharp crispness on the palate was a perfect complement to cut through the creaminess of the cheese for the first course. 

Sous Chef Dave Unumb

Sous Chef Dave Unumb explained that City Winery makes their own bread, and they used their sourdough starter to make mini baguettes, which they made like a ciabatta to be denser. He topped the bread with Old Chatham Creamery (sheep and goat milk producer) whipped ricotta, thinned with heavy cream, rose water to lighten it up a bit and add a floral note, and honey infused with black truffle add an earthy, muskiness, and pistachios to add a slight sweetness. 

Second Course

Paired with Hudson Valley Fisheries Steelhead Trout Crudo  

2020 Reserve Chardonnay

Hudson Valley Fisheries Steelhead Trout Crudo

Their 2020 Reserve Chardonnay was presented in a growler. Travis said that they abandoned using foil over their capsules to lower waste and by using reusable growler bottles they save on CO2 emissions. This wine was very bright with Meyer lemon, citrus notes, and was mineral driven. He explained that for this wine, he fermented one-third of it in concrete and the balance in new oak barrels. The neutral barrels leant great mouthfeel to the wine, which paired exceptionally well with the Hudson Valley Fisheries Steelhead Trout Crudo. 

Sous Chef Dave pointed out that Hudson Valley Fisheries Steelhead Trout was grown locally and sustainably and had a lovely mild flavor. For this pairing, the trout crudo was simply presented with a drizzle of oil, capers, and micro-greens to let the flavors shine through. 

Third Course

Paired with Buffalo Mozzarella Arancini with Pesto  

2020 Savignon Blanc

Buffalo Mozzarella Arancini with Pesto

The 2020 Sauvignon Blanc elicited notes of snap peas and grapefruit and tasted like summer and was deliciously paired with a Buffalo Mozzarella Arancini with Pesto. This was another perfect pairing where the wine complemented the arancini, which was a small mozzarella ball wrapped in risotto rice, breaded with panko, deep fried, and presented with a crown of pesto and an edible flower. Served warm, the exterior was golden and crispy, with a lovely rich and creamy center and the pesto enhanced the flavors. 

Fourth Course

Paired with Salted Caramel Chocolate Budino Tart 

2019 City Winery Reserve Cabernet Franc - Cuvee Alder Springs

Salted Caramel Chocolate Bundino Tart

The 2019 Reserve Cabernet Franc was big, bold, and beautiful at 14.8% alcohol. Made from grapes from Alder Springs Vineyard in Mendocino County, California, and located 150 miles north of San Francisco and 12 miles from the Pacific Ocean, hot days and cool nights created the perfect conditions for ripening the grapes. 

After the Wine Tasting and Food Pairing, we took an interesting private tour of the extensive wine cellar with Travis Van Caster, then browsed the artisanal offerings from the curated vendors sampling beverages, spirits, food items, skincare, and accessories, and brought some plants home to remember a beautiful afternoon spent in the Hudson Valley at City Winery. 

Wine Cellar Tour

A Sampling of the Vendors at MADE Hudson Valley Spring 2022 

City Winery Hudson Valley has an excellent restaurant, winery, live music concerts, comedy shows, and holds many events throughout the year, including MADE Hudson Valley in the Spring and in the Fall. They are also planning to build a 13-room boutique hotel onsite with spa and swimming pool making City Winery Hudson Valley a destination, so be sure to check out their website for more information: https://citywinery.com/hudsonvalley 

Hours: City Winery Hudson Valley is open Wednesday and Thursday from 4:00 pm until 9:00 pm, Friday from 4:00 pm until 10:00 pm, Saturday from 12:00 pm until 10:00 pm, and Sunday from 11:30 am until 9:00 pm. They are closed on Monday and Tuesday. 

Quiet - The wine is resting

About City Winery 

"City Winery was founded in New York City in 2008 by Michael Dorf to deliver a unique combined culinary and cultural experience to urban wine enthusiasts. Each City Winery offers intimate concerts, food and wine seminars, private event spaces, upscale dining, and a fully functioning winery. Today, City Winery has physical locations in New York, Chicago, Nashville, Atlanta, Boston, Washington DC, Philadelphia, and Hudson Valley. There are also four other concepts run by the company: City Vineyard at Pier 26, City Winery at Rockefeller Center, City Winery Chicago at the Riverwalk, and City Winery Greenway in Boston. 

City Winery is the brainchild of Michael Dorf, founder of the iconic Knitting Factory, one of New York's longest running music venues, who wanted to create a space in Manhattan where he could combine his shared passions for wine and music. After making his first barrel of wine in California with his brother Josh and wine maker David Tate, formerly of Ridge Winery and now at Barnett Vineyards, Michael caught the bug: "For a long time I'd been enjoying wine as a fan - drinking it, taking classes, attending wine dinners - but it was not until I actually started participating in the process of working with the grape, turning it into wine, putting it into a bottle, and watching it develop over time, that I really started to understand wine. And when I would give my friends a bottle of wine with my name on it, most would respond by saying: 'I wanna do that too!' It was this experience that led Michael to conceptualize and start working on the City Winery business plan in 2006. 

The core target audience of City Winery - urban wine enthusiasts who desire the experience of making their own wine, but who are not going to leave their comfortable Manhattan lifestyle to decamp to a vineyard - immediately became clear. But Michael wanted to create more than just a custom crush facility. Beyond making wine, Michael also wanted to focus on the enjoyment and satisfaction that comes from sharing wine with friends, and to capture the unique social bond that occurs when communities of like-minded people gather over a bottle of quality Cabernet, while dining on a freshly prepared meal and listening to their favorite artists perform." 

See you on the next City Winery Wine Tour - CHEERS!!

For more information, please call them +1-845-424-0222 or visit their website: https://citywinery.com/hudsonvalley 

Until next time, cheers! 

City Winery Hudson Valley
23 Factory Street
Montgomery, New York 12549
United States
Telephone: +1-845-424-0222
Website: https://citywinery.com/hudsonvalley
Facebook: www.facebook.com/citywineryhv/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/citywineryhv/ 

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