Cork Wine Bar & Market to Open In Renovated Space at 14th and S St, NW Nov. 9

1805 14th Street, NW

From a press release:

“Owners Diane Gross and Khalid Pitts announce November 9 as the opening day for the new Cork Wine Bar & Market at 1805 14th St NW. The new concept will join the classic Cork Wine Bar and Cork Market under one roof. The move sees the iconic Logan Circle wine bar transition from its original location a block south on 14th Street into a second-floor space that allows it to expand its operation with outdoor dining and increased private dining options, event spaces and educational programming. Downstairs, the market will see growth with the addition of a tasting bar and café with casual bistro seating and a house rosé made on-site.

“Our move, while exciting, has been emotional,” said Gross. “We have a decade’s worth of memories from guests, staff and family wrapped up in the orginal space. When we opened Cork in our neighborhood, we wanted to create a local gathering spot offering great wine, food and service. Relocating it into a building we own and where we have establshed the market allows us to expand on our original concept to do all things wine, giving us the flexibility to be more innovative and fun, and offer a breadth of experiences to our guests.”

“We are excited about the new things we are going to be able to offer our guests along with an even greater focus on our wine program,” said Pitts. “We are going to be able to expand our wine list and tasting opportunities, offer lunch service for the first time, open a larger outdoor dining space and delve even more into our love of wine by making our own on-site.”

Sticking with the philosophy that has made Cork a true community institution, the renovation and relocation has been a locally sourced project, with the space and interiors designed by Eric Gronning of nearby Gronning Architects, with handmade tile from their neighbor Ann Sacks, wood floors from Floors on 14th, glassware from HomeRule, and a patio garden designed with Amanda McClements of Salt & Sundry and Little Leaf.

Cork Wine Bar

Cork Wine Bar hasn’t undergone any major changes outside of location; it just has more room to stretch out in its warm and inviting new 60-seat dining room. The space includes a 30-seat extension that can be closed off for private events, wine tastings & dinners, and classes, and a 30-seat patio. The seasonally changing menu of share plates created by executive chef Jason Schreuder is intact, including the beloved avocado bruschetta.

The wine offerings, though expanding, will also remain largely untouched in concept, both upstairs and down. Gross and Pitts have curated selections that focus heavily on old world wines with the goal of demystifying these European classics by offering an affordable list and unpretentious environment. The market will continue to have a small, thoughtful selection of New World offerings. Cork has built a following for its consistent and transparent pricing format. This will continue with our program of simply adding a corkage fee to market prices for bottles purchased in the wine bar.

Beyond seated dining experiences, the expanded wine bar space also allows the Cork team to grow their wine education programming. Wine 101 classes, as well as regional and a series of varietal-specific seminars now join the winemaker dinners and tastings they are known for.

Cork Market

Cork Market has undergone the more dramatic renovation, despite remaining in its original location. The ground-floor space has been expanded with the addition of a 25-seat casual eatery and 20-seat tasting bar. New additions to the market include the Flight Club, a membership program with curated monthly selections and quarterly pick-up parties, as well as a weekly grilled cheese night and a menu with kid-friendly classics like mac and cheese and house-made pesto pasta. The market will still offer its curated selection of retail wines as well as cheese and charcuterie to take away.

Now, open for brunch, lunch and dinner, the space features a menu by market chef Ian Morrison of snacks to share, cheese, charcuterie, salads, sandwiches and, of course, fried chicken, a Cork Market favorite dating back to its 2009 opening. The selection of prepared foods to-go is intact, but is now accompanied by an expanded selection of cheese and charcuterie, and a wine selection with an even sharper focus on classic European growing regions.

The real attention grabber among the additions has to be the house rosé, made on-site from Virginia-grown grapes, which will kick off in 2018. Cork Market will produce one vintage of limited quantity each year, which will only be available on draft in the market and restaurant. First-time winemakers, Gross and Pitts are enlisting the help of local expert Ryne Hazzard, a member of the Virginia Vineyards Association, to help make a wine that is bright and easy to drink.

Like the wine bar, the market will take advantage of the expanded space for creative, seasonal programs. December will feature seasonal wine classes and tastings, and annual gingerbread decorating party (complete with a special by-the-glass wine selection) and an outdoor, European-style holiday market hosted on the patio. The holiday season will also see the launch of the market’s Flight Club, a curated monthly subscription program featuring themed monthly flights. The first “pick-up party” will be held December 10.”