Upcoming Events
Company Overview
Brian Leventhal
CEO, Co-Founder
Brian is one of Brooklyn Winery's founding fathers and has done everything from raising capital to managing the event and customer winemaking businesses to installing a sheet rock ceiling (2 layers thick!)—in the Parlor room, if you want to check out his handiwork!
Before embarking in the winery world, Brian spent countless hours making Excel models and PowerPoint presentations at McKinsey and Co. before joining ExpoTV.com and helping a cool tech startup. He also started an awesome water business at his alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis, which still exists today!
In his spare time, of which there isn't much, Brian enjoys drinking wine (obviously), his favorite being the Babs Chardonnay (named after his mother), playing golf and Rock Band, and is planning on rejoining his old dodgeball team!
John Stires
President, Co-Founder
John hails from world-renowned Glendale, California but made NYC his home more than a decade ago after running approximately one billion miles for the University of California - Santa Barbara cross country team. Once settled in the big city, he interned for a landscape architect, worked at a fish store (aquariums...not a seafood store), waited tables, and worked his way up the creative services ladder at Marvel with guys like Spider-Man and The Hulk. Needing a change, John then found himself in online product management at ExpoTV.com, where he and some co-workers did some extracurricular winemaking. Always an idea guy, he wanted to be his own boss—so he's now co-owner of Brooklyn Winery. In his spare time (not that he has much), John likes to run (very short distances), maintain his amazing 55-gallon coral aquarium, and pet his furry friend Walter, probably the best cat in the world.
Conor McCormack
Winemaker
Born in Limerick, Ireland and raised in Northern California, Conor McCormack got into winemaking after graduating college. “Making wine wasn’t on my radar until I saw a craigslist posting for a harvest intern in 2003 while hunting for a job post-college. It was serendipitous, but once I got into it, there was no stopping.” Conor brings a strong combination of technical training and hands-on experience to Brooklyn Winery, specializing in boutique premium wines.
Previous experience in Northern California at Crushpad SF, Rutherford Hill Winery, Brehm Vineyards, Audubon Cellars, and White Salmon Vineyards in Washington State, have contributed to the advanced sensory, production, and viticulture skills that Conor offers to Brooklyn Winery.
David Colston
Executive Chef
Born in Los Angeles and raised in Maine, David grew up inspired by the benefits of coastal living: fresh, local produce, abundant citrus, and incredible seafood. David creates seasonal dishes that are elegant without being pretentious and approachable without being predictable. His food is best enjoyed in the company of friends, lingering over wine and conversation. Since graduating from The French Culinary Institute, David has worked across Portland and New York including Natasha's, Cinque Terre, Walter's, Picholine, Momofuku Ko, Prime Meats and most recently, Corton in Tribeca. When he's not in the kitchen, you will most likely find him on his bicycle, lying in a park listening to NPR, doing laundry, or hanging out with his really awesome girlfriend, eating oysters and drinking Muscadet.
Stacie Black
Director of Events
Stacie joined Brooklyn Winery in September of 2011 as Director of Events to help wrangle the growing event services portion of the winery. Prior to joining the team at Brooklyn Winery, Stacie worked in sales, helping to launch two start-ups—both in the alcohol industry and both deep in the heart of Texas. Upon landing in New York, she managed and marketed a portfolio of premium import beers before finding her way to Brooklyn Winery. When not at the winery, Stacie can probably be found running in Central Park or conducting research on her neverending quest to find the best lemon meringue pie.
Julie Oehme
Marketing Manager
Julie hails from the great city of Milwaukee, where people take their drinking (and their cheese) very seriously. A graduate from UW-Wisconsin, she has spent the last ten years honing her marketing skills at advertising agencies in the Midwest and is thrilled to now be on the team at Brooklyn Winery. When she isn't feverishly plotting Brooklyn Winery’s world take over, Julie can be found writing music, whipping up vegetarian dishes for friends, or with her nose in a good book.
Jenesy Claire
Events Manager
Jenesy is from a place you may never have heard of: the San Juan Islands in Washington state. She began working in restaurants at 14 and has been traveling the world in search of the next cool food and drink trends. While trying to figure out what she was going to do with the rest of her life she hopped from resort towns like Breckenridge, Co. Montauk, NY, and Rhinebeck, NY opening up restaurants and learning how to smile in the face of chaos. After getting her degree in metal sculpture from the artsy upstate Bard College, she floated down to the Caribbean to run a boutique hotel in the far away land of Nevis. Upon moving into the big bad city, she soon realized her passion for food and drink was shared with not just a few, and she was in the perfect spot to keep her finger on the pulse of NYC. She now takes time every week to search for new spots, take in new sights, and relish the oldies-but-goodies that make this the city that never sleeps.
Elizabeth Esqueda
Assistant Manager
Elizabeth is from California and has been working in restaurants for 12 years. She has lived in NY for almost nine years and in Brooklyn for almost seven of those. Wine is Elizabeth’s passion; she is currently in the two-year diploma program at the Wine and Spirits Education Trust. A few things Elizabeth loves: traveling, the Yankees, cooking, extra soft toilet paper, a good thunderstorm, and the beach. She misses her mom’s Mexican food, and you might be interested to know that she has served Paul McCartney. Most recently, she sat on Gilt Taste Kitchen's wine tasting panel - read more here.
Sarah Heiman
Copywriter/Blogger
Sarah was born and raised in St. Louis, MO, which she decided to leave behind for higher education in Atlanta, GA. Apparently a city twice the size of her hometown wasn’t big enough, because she then moved to the really big city: New York. In the ten years that Sarah has resided in NYC, she has worked in cable TV marketing and tech startup community management, with a little interval along the way in which she received her M.A. in Forensic Psychology. She wrote her Master’s thesis on profiling serial homicide —you’ll have to ask her for the gory details. Currently, Sarah writes most of the copy you read on our website and helps out with a lot of the stuff that no one else in the office has the time to do. Random facts about Sarah: she loves horror movies, cheese, and kittens, but not necessarily in that order.
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Hours of Operation
Check our calendar for special hours and dates we are closed.
Wine Bar
Mon - Thurs: 5pm to 12am
Fri: 5pm to 1am
Sat: 1pm to 1am
Sun: 1pm to 12am
Food
Mon - Thurs: 6pm to 11pm
Fri: 5pm to 12am
Sat: 2pm to 12am
Sun: 2pm to 11pm