Josh Guberman is right — this California Pinot Noir does go well with this 6,700-square-foot penthouse. Guberman, part-owner of Crush, a wine store on 57th Street, is also CEO of Core Development and is building a business by catering to buyers who literally have great taste.
For one of his latest condo projects, the Legacy at 157 East 84th Street, the Sonoma County native married his wine expertise to his day job as a developer, to create apartments where the grape takes center stage.
“In all of our buildings, we hand-select a two- to three-case starter cellar at no charge, from an array of traditional, but excellent, fine wines: California Chardonnays, upscale Champagne, Barolos from Italy, and white Burgundy,” said Guberman, who gives buyers a GE Profile wine refrigerator to store their goodies in. “Once we get a sense of your palate, your wine likes and dislikes, we provide a lifetime cellar consultation service. It affords buyers the opportunity to build their personal cellar based on what they like.”
In addition to teaching casual drinkers how to read a wine label, Guberman said he can get seasoned palates an inside track on a great vintage. (Crush’s co-owners are Guberman’s development partner Bobby Schagrin and restaurateur Drew Nieporent.) “We take a lot of pride in understanding the flavors and characteristics of each wine, and then matching them to virtually every bottle that we sell,” said Guberman, adding that most of the residents in his buildings are big dinner party hosts who enjoy the unique concierge service.
With this team, you won’t be drinking anything that comes in a wicker basket or a box. “This is a lifestyle play for the food and wine enthusiast. We’re just providing the infrastructure for the people that love to cook and love to entertain,” Guberman said.
They need to come with a hefty budget. Prices start at $5.4 million for duplex townhouses of 4,500 square feet and go to $13.9 million for the penthouse. According to Guberman, the 11-unit building is 80 percent sold.