Prince Robert of Luxembourg, the 42 year old managing director of Domaine Clarence Dillon, oversees, and owns along with his family, two of the most prestigious Premier Grand Cru estates in Bordeaux: Chateau Haut-Brion and Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion. The Prince sat down with Luxist to discuss his strategy to expand his family's business by producing a more affordable wine on a larger scale. His newest creation is "Clarendelle", which he hopes will be the first super premium-branded Bordeaux wine.

Named in honor of his maternal great-grandfather, Clarence Dillon, a New York banker who bought Chateau Haut-Brion in 1935, Clarendelle is offered at a lower price point than the wines produced by the Prince's well known estates—$15 to $25 a bottle compared to well over $300 a bottle for Chateau Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion. Domaine Clarence Dillon is able to accomplish that by buying wine from dozens of other Bordeaux winemakers and blending it together. Only a small portion of the wine comes from the Domaine Clarence Dillon estates.

Continue reading Chateau Haut-Brion's Prince Robert of Luxembourg's Latest Venture.

By Carrie Coolidge | Source :: www.luxist.com

New York City has its own urban winery with a vineyard. The Queens County Farm Museum Winery opened in May in the Floral Park neighborhood of Queens, New York. Wines and Vines reports that the Queens County Farm Museum is a working historical farm located on 47 acres. Its history dates back to 1697 and it is New York City's largest remaining tract of undisturbed farmland and the only working historical farm in the City. It's also the longest continuously farmed site in New York State. The site includes farm buildings, a greenhouse complex, livestock, farm vehicles. planting fields, an orchard and an herb garden. It is open for tours and also hold events including the Dinner on the Farm series.

The vineyard project has been years in the making. Back in 2004 the first phase of the project began with the planting of Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc grapes. Gary Mitchell, the farm museum's vineyard manager, did some training in the University of California, Davis's famous oenological program to learn how to grow the grapes and later pulled out the Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon leaving about 1.5 acres of Merlot and Cabernet Franc.

Grapes at the farm museum are sent to the Premium Wine Group in Mattituck for processing. This spring saw the release of a 2006 and 2007 Merlot, a 2007 and 2008 Chardonnay, and a 2006 Adriance, a premium red wine blend named for the Dutch family that first farmed the museum's land. Prices range from $21 to $29 a bottle. You can only get this wine at the winery shop at the museum. Eventually Mitchell would like to plant more acres to grow this unique enterprise.

By Deidre Woollard | Source :: www.luxist.com