November '13 Pitt Stop - R Wine Cellar Urban Winery

I found myself in Pittsburgh for a work trip (lovely city by the way), and decided take a break from the conference and wander around. Near downtown is a cool area called the Strip District. It's an old factory and warehouse neighborhood that's starting to convert over to hip restaurants, artsy spaces and schlocky shops. While walking around I happened across a "wine tasting" sign. Being unable to resist those two powerful words I followed the signs to R Wine Cellar.

R Wine Cellar Urban Winery
'11 Riesling, '12 Traminette, '12 "Lake Erie White" (Diamond Grapes), '11 "Fiona" Chardonnay, '11 "Lake Erie Red" (Concord Grapes), '11 Gluhwien
The space appeared to be divided into two sections, the front area for tasting - with a bar and normal tasting room decor, and the back for winemaking. I didn't go into the back, but it looked to be crowded with tanks and barrels. It being a Wednesday afternoon the tasting room was empty. After a few minutes a gentleman popped his head out of the back to let me know he'd be with me shortly. Kind of a smart setup, being able to work on the wine then being able to attend to customers when they come in.
The man that I interacted with wasn't super forthcoming with info about the winery, or even his name, but he took good care of me, pouring any wines that I was interested in, and answering the many questions that I asked. The winery was created a year and a half ago as a project for the whole family to work on - three generations. The man that I was speaking to was the patriarch, and his kids and his kids kids all have roles in the process. The wines they make come from a variety of sources, purchasing grapes from California, South America, and the nearby Lake Erie region. Since there was a variety of wines to try, I decided to focus on the Lake Erie wines, as an introduction to a region that I'd never tried before. The wines were poured in those small plastic cups - like the ones used in a dentist's office.
I wasn't blown away by the wines, but I appreciated the tasting. The Riesling was quite sharp and dry and had bland lemons. The Traminette - a hybrid grape developed at Cornell - had a silly, sweet Gewurtztraminer nose, but gave way to a high acid and dry body with hints of nice flowers. The Lake Erie White had some different flavors, not the most appealing on the palate. The Chardonnay had nice hints of peaches and apricots. I'd heard about folks making wine with Concord grapes, and so I was excited to try the Lake Erie Red. It was a bit sweet, thin, with medicine flavors - I'm not sure what food one would eat with it. Finally the owner suggested that I tried the Gluhwein. Gluhwein is a traditional mulled wine that's served at German Christmas festivals. It was mulled with fresh oranges and spices, and was served warm. It was sweet and chewy - fun to drink.

I've got to say that I'm a fan of urban wineries - especially ones that aren't adjacent to wine regions. They are truly bringing the wine to the people. Ordinarily the urban wine experience means that you're talking to a third party about the wines, but with people now bringing the grapes into old industrial districts and making them there, you're now able to have a conversation about the minutia of the wine with the person who is intimately aware of the process. I'm glad I tripped across R Wine Cellar and look forward to running into similar wineries in the future.