Being an urban winery, there were only two things that Michael and Kerry Amigoni could not show guests when they visited their tasting room and event space at Amigoni’s Urban Winery – the grapes growing on the vines, and how they turned those grapes into wine.
Their vineyard, which grows only vinifera or European grape varietals, is located 30 miles east of Kansas City in Centerview, Missouri, so showing the grape vines will never be possible, but they recently acquired the space adjacent to their tasting room in the historic Livestock District in the West Bottoms and have begun producing wine and barrel aging in that space.
The couple announced this week that they had acquired the former Bill Brady Gallery space, located to the north of their tasting room, but connected through a garage door in the back of the building. They have, at this point, moved their entire production facility and barrel aging racks into the 3,000 square-foot building.
Previously, their wine production took place in various off-site industrial spaces, where they sometimes had to share the space with other people or businesses, which was sometimes a challenge.
Michael Amigoni, who is the winemaker, says he is thrilled to have his own production space located right next door. “I love it, not only for the short commute, but also because of the control I have over the entire production area and process,” he says. “It is all mine now.”
The new space with its soaring ceilings and small windows placed just high enough to allow for lovely light to pour into the space is more than just a production space, it will also allow them to offers tours of the entire production facility in addition to the straight wine tasting flights of 5 wines for $6 they had been offering in just their tasting room.
“We will be offering two types of public tour and tasting experiences everyday, along with other private tastings, parties and hopefully maybe even some private dinners in our new space,” says Kerry.
In addition to the current wine or beer tasting flights that you can easily do with no reservations in their tasting room, there is now a Level 1 and Level 2 tour and tasting option that you must make reservations to be able experience.
The Level 1 tour and tasting offers a VIP tour of the production facility where guests will learn about the winemaking process from grape to bottle, including how grapes are crushed and pressed, how fermentation happens and the process for aging wine in oak barrels and steel tanks. After the tour, the group will get a private tasting where they’ll sample a selection of five wines with a member of the Amigoni’s winemaking staff and learn tips on how to get the most out of a wine tasting experience. This is $30 per person with a minimum of 6 people, and a maximum of 20.
The Level 2 is the same as Level 1 but here they have added the additional personal experience of drinking wine straight from the barrel or tank. A Level 2 tasting costs $35.
Both of these new tour and tasting opportunities are by appointment only, Tuesdays through Sunday, and can be made by calling 816-890-3289 or emailing [email protected].
Sip, swirl, taste and tour now you can all of these things at Amigoni Urban Winery.
Amigoni Urban Winery, 1505 Genessee St, Kansas City, Missouri, 913.890.3289, amigoni.com
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