Where's Marty

Where's Marty? Learning the art of wine at The Wine Collective

By Marty Bass

September 13, 2022 / 1:17 PM EDT / CBS Baltimore

Where Marty? Learning the art of wine at The Wine Collective

Hi Everyone!

This is not a "Where's Marty?" theme week but yesterday and today, a "theme' has prevailed. Yesterday it was at Heavy Sea's Brewery. Today it's The Wine Collective.

Yesterday we saw the result of Hugh Sisson putting it all on the line to create his dream of a brewery. Today we met John Levenberg and Felipe Pallares. They, along with Felipe's brother Enrique, put it all on the line to create their dream of making wine, bottling that wine, and establishing an upscale tapas and wine bar. And they did it in Baltimore.

Hugh Sisson is a local guy. John is from Napa, the zenith of winemaking, Felipe and Enrique are from Ecuador and have lived all over the world. So why here?

John, while showing me around the actual wine-making plant, explained it is the right combination of weather, topography, and culture. In fact, as we have reported/visited on "WM?" there is a big distilled beverage and wine culture in the state.

And the wine part extends well South into Virginia - where dozens of vineyards are. And John would know. His pedigree is Napa. But to choose Baltimore City. We may get some bad press these days, but their choice speaks volumes. They believe!

Where's Marty? Trying the pure grape chardonnay juice at The Wine Collective

The Wine Collective, Est. 2019, gets locally sourced grapes for their product. (By the way, that unfermented grape juice he had me try was simply fabulous!) White's are being made now, and red's at the end of the month or early in October. The harvest determines that. Eight months later the bottles are filled, and then the good times roll.

Pair the industry side with a European-type tapas bar and lounge, and the whole Wine Collective plate is set. And this is great to see. Why? Because their dream survived COVID. Established in 2019 and they are still here. Hard work and refusing to lose kept the dream alive.

Where's Marty? Learning about why The Wine Collective chose Baltimore as homebase

Here is the website - check it out, and if you care to give it a try go for it. The Union Collective, which is located just off of 41st Street, near TV Hill, has a ton of free parking. They went all in, so come on in.

Marty B!

Marty Bass

Baltimoreans rise and shine with the dynamic morning duo of Marty Bass and Linh Bui. Some viewers may even skip their morning cups of java as long as they get their fix of Marty in the morning. Known for his unique take on everyday events, Marty also preps area residents to handle the day's weather with his series of early morning and noon weather reports.