Unique winery set up on Downtown Eastside
Posted February 19, 2012 2:57 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – A first-of-its-kind winery on the Downtown Eastside is looking to make a splash with a trend that has been gaining popularity across North America: wine on tap.
Vancouver Urban Winery co-founders Steve Thorp and Mike Macquisten are looking to meet growing local demand for wine on tap, with several local restaurants already buying product from Italy.
“Wine by the glass is usually pretty expensive and hard for restaurants to serve, because most times when you open a bottle of wine it oxidizes,” Thorp explains. “What happens with wine in a keg or wine on tap is it’s constantly pressurized, so the wine stays fresh all the time.”
The wine makers have set up shop in a big warehouse on the outskirts of Gastown, where they are currently working on a Sauvignon Blanc and a Malbec.
Macquisten says it hasn’t been an easy business to get into, and red tape was an obstacle when they first started.
“It’s a tricky one with zoning in this city,” he says. “There are not very many unique places that you can go to do something unique like this.”
Thorp says the wines should be ready in the spring.
