Alana and Matt Suroff felt so strongly about their Tribeca roots that when it came time to name the first bottles of their first vintages for their new company, they drew on their old haunts and old habits. As a young couple, they made the rounds here, drinking Grüner at favorite spots like the Odeon, Terroir, Anotheroom (on the benches outside), The Roxy and Smith & Mills.

And now they have launched the Tribeca Wine Collective, a direct-to-consumer boutique winery that they run between their apartment here, their production facilities in California and a house in Austin. The first out of the barrel: Staple Street Sauvignon Blanc and Leonard Street Grüner Veltliner.

The two met in LA, where Alana worked in marketing and Matt was a photo assistant, travelling around the world and sampling wines along the way. And as their careers progressed — Alana runs her own branding company called Elemnts and Matt is a visual consultant for brands — they knew they wanted to do something with wine. Matt was put in charge of building a wine list for a client, and things started to click.

“We thought, why can’t we mix what we do in the normal world and with the wine world?” Matt said. While doing a video shoot for a winery — Tooth and Nail — in Paso Robles, an area of California known for its wine growing, he got chatting with the wine director and the next thing he knew he was learning to make wine himself, spending three months during harvest season learning everything he could. Matt is now the wine maker solely, having been trained by Tyler Russell, who has two wineries in Paso Robles.

This is their second vintage and they are almost sold out. The Grüner came out first, in 2020, and they have since added an Ocean Ave Cabernet Sauvignon and a Westside Rosé, whose names honor the California side of the family. The produced 250 cases this year, and are aiming for 500 cases next year and 1000 the one after that.

They sell mostly at private events here or in California, often to friends or friends of friends. And so far that’s part of the fun. “We want a wine that represents our memories, and to drink as a way to start new memories,” Alana said, noting that Tribeca is often the backdrop.

To that end, next up: a Rhone blend called Reade Street. Stay tuned.