Kingston Wine Co.

This weekend we were upstate location scouting for a top secret shoot this week up in Dutchass County, New York. I can’t drive up the Hudson without taking the time to visit some of my favorite places, do a little shopping and catch up with friends. All three of those are true for Kingston Wine Co., owned by one of the most beautiful couples I know who packed up and left New York City for a life as shopkeepers (something that runs in their family for generations) and artists.

Opened in January, Mike & Theresa remolded and decorated the shop themselves bringing in aspects from their past- the shelving is from Brooklyn, the idea of crates came from a previous wine job, the rug from ABC. Everything is personal, everything comes with a story which is what I love most about these people – their genuine nature. While milling about the store snapping a few pics to share with you I noticed that Mike would greet every customer that came in, help them select the perfect wine or grab their favorite for them because he remembers details like that. Ask him, “I want a wine Hemingway would drink” – he has it. “I want a wine from an organic small grower that is reasonably priced” – he has it and he’ll tell you all about it.

We have been apart of their monthly wine share (which would make an awesome gift!) since the beginning and it’s always an exciting day at the studio when the package arrives. Complete with the history of the wine enclosed and recipe cards for food pairings, they do all the work for you so you can simply enjoy… and enjoy we do.

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Continue reading “Kingston Wine Co.”

Kingston Wine Co.

Kingston_Wine_Co

Some years ago, I made friends with a couple of charming New Yorkers – Mike Drapkin and Theresa Berenato – who have started a new chapter in their life since getting married: Kingston Wine Co, a charming wine store in upstate New York, just on the other side of the Hudson River from Rhinebeck. I am dying to get up to the shop and see what these two amazing souls have created but in the meantime while we entertain our busy lives, we are enjoying Kingston Wine Co.’s wine share program. This amazing package of wine that gets delivered by mail to you, curated by Mike himself (which, if you know Mike, you know he lived on a farm in southern France and worked as sommelier for a decade in places like Balthazar and Vestry Wines in Tribeca, so you KNOW it’s going to be good). Included in the package is the history of the wine, its grower’s story and a recipe suggestion by Mike and Theresa to enhance the experience of the wine. We love it. So cheers to you, friends, and thank you for the little package of love that arrives each month…I HIGHLY recommend it.

PS- Remember when I photographed Theresa in gowns? or when Mike made recipes for the blog?

photographic recreation of Jean-Siméon Chardin’s still life “Still Life with Bottle, Glass, and Loaf