Tucked inside an underground art gallery and housed in a 100-year-old bank vault, The Grape Rebellion offers sweets and sips in Beacon.
When people hear “underground wine bar,” they might conjure up the image of a secret spot for a glass of vino rather than an actual bar beneath the ground. In Beacon, The Grape Rebellion is actually both: a hidden wine and dessert bar that’s located in Savage Wonder Art Center’s underground art gallery. If that isn’t enticing enough to encourage a visit to the Dutchess County destination, the wine and dessert bar also occupies that space that was once a bank vault 100 years ago, making every visit a cool and intimate affair.
While wine is a key attraction in the Hudson Valley, so too is art, and Savage Wonder Art Center is an all-in-one venue for both. The new art center takes root in the historic Mechanics Savings Bank Building on Main Street, where the 6,000-square-foot space includes an art gallery, theater, wine bar, and soon-to-be mainstage. The organization behind the art center, Savage Wonder, is a veteran-led nonprofit that works to amplify veteran voices in American theater and beyond, and the wine bar’s mission remains true to that philosophy.
The idea behind The Grape Rebellion was to create a space that was part speakeasy, part global adventure inspired by Savage Wonder founder and artistic director Chris Meyer’s travel overseas during war deployments. The result is a venue that offers an extensive wine list and globally inspired small plates.
“While our mission is to highlight world-class veteran talent and its effect on American culture,” says Meyer, “the Grape Rebellion is our answer to the conventional wine bar—it’s an intimate journey through the tastes, textures, and cultures our veterans have known firsthand.”
Leading the charge on the wine and dessert experience is chief hospitality officer Jeremy Plyburn, an alumnus of the Michelin-starred Gramercy Tavern in New York City, and pastry chef Andrew Dobson, a graduate of the nearby Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. While patrons can expect desserts at The Grape Rebellion to be sweet and exotic, the menu changes in inventive ways to correspond to the shows on stage or the artwork in the gallery. When it comes to wine, the bar carries four blends made by a Navy veteran in California, staying authentic to the Savage Wonder mission.
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“If we’re opening a wine bar in Beacon—on Main Street, no less—it has to be exceptional,” says Plybum. “So, we went straight to the Culinary Institute of America to find a chef who could bring our absurd and whimsical ideas to life on the plate.”
While The Grape Rebellion hosts Wine Down Wednesdays, a midweek event that offers unlimited pours for one flat price, the venue also kicks off The Grape Escape this summer, which is a new event series that features live music and drink specials with creative flair. Stop by the Savage Wonderground art gallery on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 5-10 p.m. for $6 glasses of wine and live entertainment.
The Grape Rebellion is located at 139 Main Street in Beacon.
