ML - Michigan Avenue

2013 - Issue 2 - Spring

Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!

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TASTE the vine whisperer Oenophile Robert Kowal samples a house vintage. ROBERT KOWAL POPS THE CORK ON CITY WINERY���S FIRST HOUSE-MADE VINTAGE. BY MEG MATHIS PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANTHONY TAHLIER T he vino flows freely at City Winery, and winemaker Robert Kowal predicts that flavor profiles will err on the sweeter side this spring. ���Once it starts to get warm, there���s this tremendous excitement about ros��s because they���re early wines released from their previous vintage,��� says Kowal. Perfect timing, then, for the debut of the West Loop destination���s inaugural house-made wine, a small batch of Pinot Noir ros�� from Hyland Vineyard Estates in Oregon���s Willamette Valley. City Winery���s Pinot Noir will be in barrel for another year, but the ros�����made from the same grapes��� is going to be ready in March, says Kowal, who recently moved to Chicago from Oregon to open the 33,300-square-foot space. Small Talk The small-scale winery movement inspires Kowal, who notes a ���breakaway of individuals taking risks that no corporation would.��� He admires the unorthodox approach of Domaine Turner Pageot in southern France. ���They���re doing things that anyone who���s formally trained would say is crazy,��� Kowal says of the white wines, which are fermented warmly. Dynamic Duos In his own kitchen, Kowal is excited for a variety of spring pairings. With lighter shellfish, he chooses Oregon Pinot Gris and Italian Pinot Grigio, while northern Italian Nebbiolo D���Alba wine is ideal for spring lamb. ���Moscato D���Asti is perfect for brunches and is a favorite with rhubarb, a harbinger of spring for me,��� says Kowal. A Package Deal Seventy percent of City Winery���s wine is sold through a tap system, offering Kowal the luxuries of on-site monitoring and a reduced footprint. Alternative packaging, he believes, will help wines continue to differentiate themselves. ���It���s not what���s in the bottle, but the associations with that bottle,��� says Kowal, ���whether it���s the personality of the rock-star winemaker or the impossibly remote site where the vines are grown.��� 1200 W. Randolph St., 312-733-9463; citywinery.com MA GRAPE EXPECTATIONS Although based in Chicago, winemaker Robert Kowal works closely with vineyard liaisons in locales like Oregon and Washington. Says Kowal, ���If they do their job in the vineyard, the fruit is healthy, and they pick it at the right time���that���s 90 percent of the work.��� Grapes are transported to City Winery, where they are stemmed, crushed, fermented, and pressed. ���We���re trying to make the grapes reach the greatest expression of their potential,��� Kowal says. ���It���s like raising kids.��� 78 A tap system handles 70 percent of the wine sold at City Winery. PHOTOGRAPHY BY THINKSTOCK (GLASS) Winemaking is a labor of love at City Winery. MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM 074-080_MA_Flavor_FlavorOfTheMonthV2_Spring13.indd 78 2/11/13 6:05 PM

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