While an afternoon spent at a winery or a distillery sounds like the perfect way to pass a fall or winter day, most people think of having to drive somewhere Upstate or Out East to get the experience. But there are plenty of tasting rooms closer to home and accessible by public transit in New York City. Read on for a list of wineries and distilleries to visit in New York City.
City Winery | Multiple Locations in NYC
City Winery has locations around NYC as well as the rest of the country. Possibly the most idyllic location around is at City Vineyard situated right on the Hudson, a short walk from the World Trade Center PATH. For a full night on the town, check out the upcoming events calendar for live music, comedians, and more for entertainment while you enjoy sipping their wines. If you’ve ever been interested in making your own wine, City Winery also offers a few options for custom wine or custom labels.
Read More: A List of Dog-Friendly Breweries + Wineries in North Jersey
Brooklyn Winery | 61 Guernsey Street, Brooklyn
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A visit to Brooklyn Winery begins with a winery tour and you will learn about how grapes are sourced and the winemaking process while sampling some of their fan-favorites along the way. Tours are held on Tuesday, Saturday, and Sunday so they can be a great switch up from a normal happy hour at the bar. There’s a restaurant on-site, Rosette, with a seasonal menu to help soak up the sips.
Enlightenment Wines Meadery | 93 Scott Avenue, Brooklyn
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Enlightenment Wines is based out of Honey’s, a bar and event space in Brooklyn. It makes seasonal, small-batch honey wines called mead. All of the creations use fruits and local honey from around New York to enhance these 12% ABV bottles. The bar opens every day from 5PM until late at night and is a great spot for late-night dancing.
Great Jones Distilling | 686 Broadway, New York
Walking into this three-story distillery is almost like stepping back to Prohibition. With dark, art-deco-inspired decor, stepping into Great Jones on even the sunniest city day can reset your internal clock to think of sipping Old Fashioneds at midnight, meanwhile, it’s still happy hour, which is from 3:30PM to 6PM daily. Enjoy one of the many options offered on-site from the Basquiat-themed tour with an art twist to honor famed artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, or a cocktail-making class.
Kings County Distillery | 299 Sands Street, Brooklyn
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Kings County Distillery has been crafting the fine amber liquid since 2010 out of the Paymaster Building at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. While the idea may date back to Prohibition, the distillers at Kings County have given these bourbons, ryes, and whiskeys a modern twist. Visitors will sample whiskeys that taste like chocolate or a grapefruit jalapeno. Guests can enjoy these samples in flight or cocktails before or after a tour of the distillery, open seven days a week.
Our/New York Bar + Vodka Distillery | 151 W 26th Street New York
Welcome to New York’s Midtown vodka distillery. Our/New York makes craft vodka using the city’s iconic tap water for filtration and a smooth finish. Enjoy vodka tastings at the bar, along with a number of seasonal craft cocktails. For something truly memorable, ask about the Basil Vodka, infused with basil from New York State.
Standard Wormwood Distillery | 68 34th Street Brooklyn
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In the midst of Industry City + Sunset Park, wander into Standard Wormwood Distillery. The sprawling location has a large outdoor courtyard as well as a lounge just steps from where they make Rye, Gin, Agave, Vermouth, and Amaro. Pop in on a night where there is live music and let the bartenders take you on a tour of their house-made spirits. Most of their ingredients are sourced from their farm in Orange County, New York. See if you can catch the different layers in each glass while you try all that Standard Wormwood has to offer.
The Red Hook Winery | 175 Van Dyke Street Pier 41, Suite 325A, Brooklyn
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Visitors will step into The Red Hook Winery on Pier 41 in Brooklyn for both views and booze. This urban winery uses sustainable winemaking practices with sourced grapes from around New York State. This is the spot where guests can take their tastebuds on a tour of all that New York State wines have to offer like the 2019 Christopher Nicolson Lot 10 Vineyard Riesling from the Finger Lakes or the 2019 Robert Foley Jamesport Vineyard Cabernet Franc from the North Fork. The winery is open Mondays and Thursday to Sunday with tasting room reservations available online.
Van Brunt Stillhouse | 6 Bay Street, Brooklyn
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This is a must-visit spot for fall, with Van Brunt’s seasonal brews of Campfire Whiskey and Maple Bourbon. The grains for the whiskey, distilled on-site, come from an organic farm near Ithaca and are transported to Red Hook for production. The tasting room is open Friday to Sunday and tours are offered on Saturdays from 1PM to 6PM.
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Widow Jane Distillery | 218 Conover Street, Brooklyn
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Widow Jane Distillery is less than a five-minute walk from The Red Hook Winery, so visitors can make an afternoon out of these two destinations. Widow Jane produces small-batch whiskey that is proofed with pure limestone water from Upstate’s Rosedale Mines. This is an ode to the strength of this limestone, which was used as the foundation for some of the city’s most iconic structures like the Empire State Building and the Brooklyn Bridge. Widow Jane has public tours on the weekends and private tours can also be scheduled.
