When it comes to the classic beverages, the where and how of consumption adds greatly to one’s pleasure: the calming ceremony of tea preparation (pre-warming the pot!), the burnt-toast scent of a coffee house, the conversational aura of a pub. It’s difficult to imagine a circumstance in which I would not find a glass of wine congenial, but I love it most of all when there is something beautiful to look at: a vine-covered pergola, a lake view, or an inspiring structure like the Cleveland Trust Building, which dates to 1908.
The murals on the upper mezzanine are by Francis Millet, who died on the Titanic in 1912.
A Jesuit missionary at Niagara Falls, by Francis Millet.
To the right of the Jesuit, a Native American in a canoe.
Designed by George Browne Post, who also created the New York Stock Exchange, the Cleveland Trust Building was originally a bank, and has remained a jewel in the heart of downtown Cleveland, even during the sad years when it was unused and closed to the public. Finally in early 2015, the local grocery chain Heinen’s reopened the building after a loving $10 million renovation.
The stunning dome is beautifully preserved. It looks like a Tiffany window.
The architectural style of the Cleveland Trust building is part Neoclassical, part Beaux-Arts. It was used as a movie set for “The Avengers” (2012) and one of the Captain America films.
Wine above, deli and bakery below.
It’s a brilliant repurposing, and the glories of Post’s expansive rotunda are undimmed by the discreet counters of cheeses and bakery goods, or the café seating on the lovely opus sectile marble floor. The highlight, though, is the self-serve wine bar in the second-floor mezzanine.
Self serve wine tasting: a brilliant idea.
You insert a pre-paid card in a slot, and out flows your wine selection in a 1.5 oz, 3 oz, or 6 oz serving. Most intriguing of all is the variety of bottles on “tap.” You can sample anything from a $17.99 La Crema Chardonnay to a $399 Haut Brion White Bordeaux or a $850 Penfold’s Grange Shiraz. Three ounces of the $29.99 Grgich Hills Fumé Blanc cost me $5.75. It’s more than retail price, but the markup is not as high as in a restaurant.
Cheese plate from the handy nearby appetizer bar.
A selection of bottles including the $850 Penfold’s, which I didn’t sample. Maybe next time.
Sipping the nectar of the vine in a space like this is good fun. I wonder if the staid bankers of 1908 enjoyed a surreptitious tipple now and then?
The Cleveland Trust building is whimsically juxtaposed with the 1971 Ameritrust Tower, designed in the “Brutalist” style by Marcel Breuer. There was talk of tearing it down, but preservationists were indignant. It is now a luxury apartment building.
Linnet Moss 
Yes, there’s nothing quite like a glass of wine when you’re someplace beautiful. I was quite interested to see the wine bar. Such a cool concept. It looks like that system operates using bottles of wine. My dad’s cousins own a vineyard in Michigan and they have recently developed a similar system for restaurants and bars that operates using a vaccum-assisted bag and pouch system which keeps the wine fresher/longer but would be limited to those producers willing to forego the traditional bottle- a bit risky IMO but it seems there is a slow trend toward placing high-value wine in boxes and pouches. I’m torn because of course I want my distant cousins to be successful but I myself still have deeply ingrained prejudices against boxed wines. =)
Yes, this system uses bottles, but I would not be opposed to pouches or boxes if they offered a good variety. I am a stickler for freshness and I don’t like wines once they have sat open for a day. For health reasons I have to limit my consumption, so I find the box a wonderful invention. I enjoy “Black Box” chardonnay, which is better than many bottles we’ve tried at much higher prices.
LOL. I know my prejudice is unreasonable. I was given a box of really cheap and all but undrinkable wine by my boyfriend in collage, and since it was a sweet gesture and he lived with me, I had to slowly work through it rather than hurt his feelings. It seemed none of my friends were that interested in helping me get through it, either. I’m forever scarred. LOL
LOL. That sounds like an ordeal!
Truly heinous. LOL at my younger self. My older, wiser self would just set my boyfriend straight. =)
Right, because life is too short to drink Franzia Sunset Blush.
LOL. As a matter of fact it WAS Franzia. Never. Ever. Again. =)
I love the idea of a wine tap. Often those pricey bottles aren’t sold by the glass in restaurants and you don’t want to take a risk. Plus I love that you can get a smaller amount. This is brilliant!
Exactly! I like the three ounce pour, since you can taste two wines, get a real sense of the flavors, and end up drinking the equivalent of one glass.
what a shelturd live i’ve lived/livid! i ain’t ne’er hurd o’ a wine-bottle tap either! clever!
It reminds me of the old French song about being buried in the wine cave with one’s mouth beneath the faucet.
What a gorgeous building. And how lucky that it has been restored to its former glory – and is now publicly accessible. Those wine tasting machines are fascinating. A great idea – I hope it catches on in other places, too. In any case, a place I’d love to spend an hour or two in with the company of good friends, savouring and tasting.
Yes, I am so grateful that someone had the good sense to revive it, and do a proper restoration. I have a feeling that the store will be a hit!
I’ve got to take my time more often. I read the title of the post as “Wine Ambulance.” The event is like an upscale version of the automat. Seems like it was a wonderful evening, even a fantasy.
Wine ambulance! LOL. I do that more and more often these days. Even though I have 20/20 vision with my corrective lenses, I still read things wrong. But occasionally it’s entertaining, like when autocorrect goes insane:
http://www.damnyouautocorrect.com/13603/the-25-funniest-autocorrects-of-dyacs-first-year/
There are days when a wine ambulance would be just the remedy.
Wow, lovely photos. Sounds like a great wine drinking experience. Atmosphere is very important with wine!
Thank you! Somehow wine and a beautiful setting add up to more than the sum of the parts 🙂
I also like the ritual associated with drinking tea or going to a beautiful place. Thank you for introducing this beautiful building Linnet 🙂
Thanks Sylvie 🙂 Cleveland is something of a hidden gem and I enjoy sharing it.
How very nice! And where you drink wine, the company joining you and the food you are enjoying it with often really make the wine also. For me, and this is in the negative, excessive amounts of noise–screaming people, music that isn’t my taste or just too loud, and excessive restaurant clatter–will ruin the experience. But domed buildings such as that often have a wonderful resonant sound to them, making the combined din of bustling people, overhead music, and other ambient sounds very pleasant. And I love the smell of some older buildings as well.
I agree that excessive noise can spoil the pleasure. Last time we were there, some people were over-imbibing and getting very loud. I made a note to return on a Sunday afternoon, when it is relatively quiet 🙂
One of my pet peeves is high noise levels in restaurants. I definitely go for the quiet ones. And yes, good company and food can have the same impact as a beautiful setting.
I meant to mention that we had a wine bar in Pasadena called the Wine Detective that dispensed wine that way. The charcuterie plates were very nice, but the wine tastes were quite a bit pricey. They didn’t survive, and the high cost is likely why, but I think the concept is a great idea. The biggest issue for places like that is in keeping the more expensive wines–especially the reds—from oxidizing too much once they are opened and installed in the machine. If certain wines go untouched for a few days, they get ruined. They use pumps and gas to try to keep them fresh, but that is expensive maintenance and still no guarantee.
Ah, I wondered about the technology they’re using–given that it’s bottles and not pouches. That explains why they can’t sell the wine at retail prices. There is some wastage. (Come to think of it, the same must be true of wine sold by the glass in restaurants.) But I would not mind if they leave out the really pricey bottles in favor of those that sell the best.
I think the turnover in restaurants might be more, since the glasses are fuller. In tasting it takes longer to use up a bottle, of course. Taking wastage into account definitely affects price…which is why I like flights when offered and wineries, where tasting is often free with just the price of the glass. 🙂
We have tasting events here, where you get to choose among fifty or sixty wines, but I always end up drunk and confused about which ones to buy. I guess my problem is that I refuse to spit. I don’t think I can really taste a wine unless I swallow some of it. It has to hit the back of the throat so I can taste the finish.
I refuse to spit either (unless it is truly bad…then I leave also.) I think after the forth winery I am usually quite done. And I have been guilty of buying wine from the last wineries, only to be disappointed later when I uncork what I bought. I try to take notes where possible, especially when sober. 😉
LOL. Men and wines should always be chosen while sober 🙂
This is where Hydra kept my poor Bucky?! I just know they shoved him into his cryo chamber then all went to lunch in that fabulous restaurant and didn’t even bring him back a glass of wine. Oh the humanity!
I’m fascinated by the wine vending machines. Theoretically you could get a couple of glasses and mix the wines like at those juice bars that let you make your own custom smoothies… no need to call security. I’ll see myself out.
OMG. That is heinous! All the winemakers out there will be coming to lynch you now.
again: how clever. and Cleveland, as in OHIO? hmmm…
but it DOO sound like fun and even Betty would enjoy/go for a place like that!
I DOO sense a scatological undercurrent in your comments. I think you and Betty need to abandon the “shelturd” life and kick up your heels in Ohio 🙂
nahhh… jes’ curious. seems just slightly improbable — but (!) it’s NEEET that there’re surprises in places where one may not expect it ~ !
Yes, I have heard Cleveland referred to as an armpit. LOL. And we are still trying to live down the scandal of the Cuyahoga river catching on fire. But now there is a beer named “Burning River.”
Lovely place and stunning refurb What a pleasure for this to be a pleasure palace for food and drink rather than another bank or insurance company. Looks like the ideal place for a nice tipple. Impressed at the wine bar i do hope they can make it work! Makes you wonder about the v expensive ones but sounds like it could work brilliantly especially with mid range priced ones where one can sample smaller glasses. Gorgeous golden hue on yours 🙂 these would be perfect afternoon tea surroundings too 🙂
I love the afternoon tea idea! There are pastries downstairs, and an upscale coffee bar as well, but I’ve not looked into its tea offerings.
A great review… very delightful reading!
Best wishes, Aquileana 😀
Many thanks 🙂