Urban Press Winery distributes distillery-produced hand sanitizer
When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade, as the saying goes. So when one owns a distillery, as in Giovanni D’Andrea’s case, you make hand sanitizer during the coronavirus pandemic.
D’Andrea, owner of Urban Press Spirits in Irwindale, opted to be productive with his business during these difficult times and shifted from making liquor to manufacturing 80%-alcohol hand sanitizer for the public.
“It’s about 160-proof, so you don’t want to drink this,” D’Andrea said with a laugh on Monday. “It’s not your best martini mix.”
This past weekend, he distributed 500 8-ounce bottles of the hand sanitizer for free at his other business, Urban Press Winery in downtown Burbank, to those who made a reservation on the store’s website.
With demand still high for the product, D’Andrea said he plans to give away about 100 bottles of hand sanitizer to members of the public each night this week, as long as they make a reservation beforehand.
Understanding the shortage of hand sanitizer in many groceries and pharmacies, D’Andrea said it was a no-brainer to start making the product at his distillery.
Using a formula provided by the World Health Organization, Urban Press Spirits has been churning out bottle after bottle of hand sanitizer.
D’Andrea said he had an inclination that a pandemic was on the horizon and stocked up on plastic 8-ounce bottles before the outbreak occurred.
In addition to handing out the sanitizer to the general public, bottles have been distributed to the Burbank police and fire departments, employees at various grocery stores and other small businesses.
“A lot of people in the community have been grateful that we’re doing this,” D’Andrea said. “People have offered to pay for it, but I’m not trying to make money off of this.”
Liquor production for Urban Press Spirits has been put on the back burner for the time being, but D’Andrea said he is trying to keep the winery afloat.
Wine sold by the Burbank store has been discounted by about 35% and each order comes with a free bottle of hand sanitizer. Customers can either order the product online for delivery or curbside pickup, D’Andrea said.
To keep spirits up, D’Andrea said he plans to hold a virtual wine-tasting event over a weekend in the future at which people can purchase a six-pack of wine, while he and other food experts will be on a video call explaining the wines and the foods they pair with best.
“I want to turn it into the largest wine-tasting event in the county,” D’Andrea said.
To make reservations for hand sanitizer or wine pickup, visit urbanpresswinery.com.
