The old Stroh's Ice Cream building will live again as a tasting room for Detroit's first winery in 60 years.

Detroit Vineyards has been making wine at the 12,000-square-foot Gratiot Avenue facility near Eastern Market for about a year and will open its tasting room to the public May 3, as first reported by Crain's Detroit Business.

Reached by phone Tuesday afternoon, Detroit Vineyards co-owner and lead winemaker Blake Kownacki confirmed the tasting room will be open seven days a week, offering guests a chance to sample the brand's varietals, which may soon include wine from Detroit-grown grapes.

The company currently sources most of its grapes from the west side of the state, Kownacki said, but is cultivating two acres of vineyards in the city.

“There’s a very specific microclimate here in Detroit in relationship to the Detroit River where we’re able to mitigate severe winter temperatures," said Kownacki, who grew up in Waterford before moving to study winemaking on the West Coast. "Our problem isn’t getting our fruit to ripen here, it’s getting these varietals to survive the harsh winters.”

A winery in Detroit is not unprecedented, he said.

“We’ve looked up the facts and seen the documentation: Cadillac did plant a vineyard here in 1702," Kownacki said. "We’ve got California beat by a longshot. There were multiple wineries here in the city, and during Prohibition... all the wineries up and moved to the west side of the state.”

Attached to Detroit City Distillery, the Detroit Vineyards production facility and tasting room has kept some of the ice cream-making equipment from its former life as the Stroh's ice cream plant.

"I just poked my head around and saw this amazing ice cream factory that was sitting dormant and empty," Kownacki said of the space. "This facility was built for food production, which automatically suited our needs for water pressure and power. And the space is just gorgeous.”

Detroit Vineyards was founded in 2014 by University of Michigan business professor emeritus Claes Fornell and Kownacki, who ran Michigan-based Cherry Creek Cellars from 2010 to 2015 and studied under acclaimed Australian winemaker Philip Shaw before that.

Detroit Vineyards first began production at a 1,200-square-foot facility near Gleaners Food Bank but is looking to increase production nearly tenfold, justifying the sizeable new facility.

“We’re not just slapping the name of Detroit on the label," Kownacki said. "We’re thoroughly bred in Detroit and we’re making the wine here in the city. We’re looking at international distribution. We think if you see Detroit on the label, whether you’re in France or Italy or wherever else you may be, that will catch your eye. Folks overseas don’t know what Traverse City is but they all recognize Detroit, so we have a marketing advantage.”

Detroit Vineyards' current offerings include 2016 vintages of riesling, chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon, as well as a cabernet franc rosé. Bottles are in the $20-$28 range and are available at Detroit's House of Pure Vin, Supino Pizzeria, Gold Cash Gold and Slows Bar BQ, as well as Neiman's Family Market in Clarkston and Plum Market in Ann Arbor.

The new tasting room will offer 15 different products by the glass or to taste, including newer vintages and varietals, as well as house-made ciders and meads.

Kownacki said the company is working on expanding its distribution but also expects its tasting room to be a destination for oenophiles and novices alike who want to experience Michigan wine without traveling four hours by car.

“We’re trying to make wine for everybody here," Kownacki said. "We try to remove the snobbery. We want all aspects of society to come enjoy the experience of wine."

Send your dining tips to Free Press Restaurant Critic Mark Kurlyandchik at 313-222-5026 ormkurlyandc@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @MKurlyandchik and Instagram @curlyhandshake. Read more restaurant news and reviews and sign up for our Food and Dining newsletter.