Forget Napa Valley or the Loire, right here in Manhattan is a world class Winery. It’s a place of great taste (no pun intended) and one which New York City can call its own. City Winery is the brainchild of Michael Dorf, a man who knows wine better than anyone. The New York grapevine is indeed abuzz about Dorf’s City Winery creation, and word is spreading across the country. The French love Michael Dorf, Italy adores him, and the whole of the wine world is saluting him. Dorf’s Winery novel concept is also being taken very seriously in an industry which is usually very conservative in embracing new concepts. The enthusiasm about City Winery is understandable. Michael Dorf is combining education and enjoyment around one of the oldest drinks in the world, and making not just wines but memoable occasions. Michael’s idea like everything he sets his mind to was born out of his own interests. He created City Winery because he loved making wine and wanted to share the process with others. Dorf says: “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.” It didn’t stop there and Dorf says: “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!” So being a man of great charity Michael Dorf invented a way to make people make wines.
If you want to learn how to make Red or White wine or just drink it, then City Winery is the place for you. Michael Dorf loves wine, travels the world to find the best grapes, and share them with New York, the City he calls home. Dorf has always been a man with a unique vision for New York. In fact when Michael finds a new passion, he doesn’t just simply enjoy it, he passes it on. Indeed, Ask a New Yorker.com appreciates anyone who adds life to this great City of ours and Michael Dorf has passionately built a thriving business around his interests not just once but twice. If the name sounds familiar Michael Dorf first made headlines when he created one of the most iconic live music venues in the world. The Knitting Factory. It has been a long but successful road for Dorf whose life-long enjoyment of music made him create the iconic live music venue in 1987. The Knitting Factory went on to become the city’s consummate destination for independent music. In 1994, he pioneered live webcasting, and produced the first live music streams from clubs anywhere in the world. Quickly Dorf’s work became a legend. Now he is both the talk and the toast of the town again. Many, especially in the wine industry from France to Argentina are raising their glasses to him. Michael Dorf is bringing the best wines of the world to New York, and creating memorable evenings for the thousands of people who visit his space. It is hardly surprising that Michael’s brilliant idea is making its mark not just in New York but now also in Chicago. Very soon his unique approach to wine drinking will be pouring its success across the country.
It was back in 2008 when Michael’s passion for wine inspired him to create Manhattan’s first fully operational winery.These days City Winery is a must see space, complete with wine bars, the Barrel Room restaurant, and live performance space. The venue also has multiple private event spaces,and has become a ‘Must do” on any New Yorkers list. Michael’s wine-producing operation is impressive. He arranges for fresh-off-the-vine grapes to be express-shipped to Manhattan from the Finger Lakes, California, Oregon, and even Chile. Customers who purchase certain memberships can also make an entire barrel of wine under the tutelage of a master vintner. Imagine, your own wine to share with friends or business associates and Michael’s team can help makes it happen. “It’s the Knitting Factory for grown-ups,” Dorf says. Interestingly though despite the fact that he is one of the most influential people in New York, Michael is also one of those selfless individuals who help people the rest of the world have seemingly forgotten. Ask a New Yorker.com has witnessed Michael Dorf’s big-heart and generous spirit first –hand and when he didn’t know anyone was watching. When a film maker needed some extra dollars (like thousands) in order help make a film about legendary Jazz musician, Thomas Chapin, Michael was there with the money, and made the show go on! Indeed, his contribution to the lives of countless people has not gone unnoticed, not to mention the jobs he has created. Equally worthy of mention is the good will with tourists and locals his Winery business has achieved. City Winery now thrives in both New York and Chicago. It was in 2012, when Dorf opened his second City Winery location in Chicago’s West Loop and this New York export became an instant hit. What makes Michael Dorf’s formula work is that his City Winery is the place to experience quintessential urban culture against a unique “wine country” backdrop, and with involvement. From participating in the winemaking process, sampling a favorite vintage in the Barrel Room, indulging in some cheese or other pairing, or fulfilling a lifelong dream of seeing your favorite artists perform in an up-close-and-personal, intimate setting it is a happening concept. City Winery realizes and focuses several of Michael Dorf’s passions, and represents a continuous drive to bring people together, and delivering a unique experience of wine, food, culture. Since their openings, in New York and Chicago both City Winery locations have become known as preeminent, go-to entertainment venues, catering to a sophisticated clientele seeking a distinctive location in which to enjoy world-class live music performances. Dorf is also able to attract celebrities. Some of the artists who have played to a packed house there have included Richard Thompson, David Byrne, Los Lobos, Patti Smith, Suzanne Vega, Philip Glass, Joan Osborne, Steve Earle and many more. The quality and frequency of sold-out shows, combined with the so-often positive press garnered in both markets, is an ongoing validation of Michael’s creative vision. We here at Ask a New Yorker.com are not the first to herald Michael Dorf’s creation and most certainly won’t be the last. The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The New Yorker have all labeled him an “impresario” with New York Magazine even lauding him one of the “10 Most Influential New Yorkers.” City Winery, is not only a unique one of a kind and the only winery in New York, but a venue with the greatest collections of wine and atmosphere you could wish for in New York or anywhere else in the world. The Winery also has a do good aspect to it. In keeping with Michael’s deep-rooted charitable philosophy, City Winery donates over 15% of its wine to numerous non-profits and cultural organizations. Michael Dorf is clearly a man inspired by a real desire to help others and improve the lives of those less fortunate. As a way to raise philanthropic funds for the music education of underserved youth, Dorf created an annual series of Tribute concerts at Carnegie Hall, which has raised almost 1 million dollars in the last 8 years. A man of faith, Dorf’s own spiritual journey moved him to create Tribeca Hebrew in 2004, an after-school program that invites children to explore their connections with history and develop their Jewish identity. Additionally, Michael is on the board of Jewish Week, American Symphony Orchestra, Storahtelling, and Downtown Arts Development. He’s also widely known as the creator of the annual “Downtown Seder” which, for the past twelve years, has brought together a diverse collection of artists, musicians, comedians, and political figures to each interpret and present a section of the classic Passover story to sold-out audiences. A man of the people, and of family, Michael is married with three children and lives in Tribeca. A true New York hero. We raise our glasses to this great New Yorker. Michael Dorf is indeed like a great wine – tasteful and refreshing! A man who fills your glass with class!
