Coast and Valley opened its doors on May 1. (Rose Liang)
May 13, 2019 By Laura Hanrahan
A new California-themed wine bar has opened its doors in Greenpoint.
Coast and Valley, located at 587 Manhattan Ave., began serving up a full menu of California wines and Golden State-inspired food on May 1st.
Long-time Bay Area residents Stephanie Watanabe and Eric Hsu—who are partners in both business and life—decided to open up the west coast wine bar after noticing a discernible gap in Californian wine choices in New York City.
The intimate bar can seat 34 patrons. (Rose Liang)
“After almost two decades in California, it was time for a change, and it was a long time dream of Stephanie’s to live in NYC,” Hsu said. “After spending years visiting NYC and seeing the lack of California wine representation, we felt we could bring something unique to the city.”
The bar’s menu offers 50 different Californian wines, all available by the taste, the glass, or the bottle, with plans to add many more in the coming months. Watanabe and Hsu say they hope to be able expand people’s conception of Californian wines.
“When we mention California wines, people have generally responded that California wines are either buttery, oaky Chardonnay, or a big, bold Cabernet Sauvignon,” Watanabe said. “And while that’s true, California is so much more than that. So we want to dispel any misconceptions about what California wine truly is, and that includes everything from Sangiovese and Pinot Noir to Vermentino and Viognier.”
Watanabe and Hsu want to ensure that their bar is not a stereotypical stuck up wine bar, and plan to keep the menu financially accessible by pricing more than half of the wines at less than $15 per glass.
The bar also serves shareable small and medium plates for both dinner and brunch. On weekends, patrons can enjoy buckwheat pancakes with cardamom butter and maple syrup. Or for a more savory option, a crispy chicken thigh and drumstick with maitake mushrooms is on the dinner menu.
Hsu, who previously founded Wine Direct, a wine-industry e-commerce platform, says he and Watanabe (previously an event producer) chose to set up shop in Greenpoint because of the bright, open and California-esque space they found.
“We also love how Greenpoint still feels like a community-driven neighborhood, which is something we really value,” Hsu said.
The duo have made every effort to make their new space as environmentally sustainable as possible, utilizing solar power, sourcing food and wine sustainably, and offering a largely vegetarian and vegan menu.
The bar is open six days a week, Tuesday through Sunday.
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One Comment
So $15 for one single glass of wine is supposed to be “financially accessible”? These are the kinds of overpriced carpetbagger yuppie places that are making Greenpoint completely unaffordable. Enjoy that “community-driven feeling” in Greenpoint, as you are in the middle of destroying that very community.