Join Wine Lovers of NYC on February 25 for a tasting of “Brooklyn Wines in Brooklyn.”
The Red Hook Winery is one of only three wineries in the boro and we’ll have the chance to meet the winemaking staff at the Owl’s Head, the most intimate and unique wine bar in Brooklyn.
The Red Hook Winery, founded in 2008, makes wines from grapes grown on the North Fork of Long and the Finger Lakes. We will have the privilege of meeting Marquita Levy, the winery’s pourer and tour guide and John Avelluto, the Owl’s Head owner. Marquita will work together to guide us through a tasting of the winery’s selections.
The Red Hook staff:
Robert Foley began his wine making career in the Napa Valley in 1977, working at a number of highly regarded Napa Valley wineries, including the famous Pride Mountain Vineyards, where he spent 15 years as founding winemaker. During this period, he also created the highly acclaimed Switchback Ridge, Hourglass, Paloma, School House, and Engel Family wines. When he's not making wine, he spends time with his wife and business manager Kelly Kehoe, his two children, and his two granddaughters. You can also find Bob jamming with his rock n roll group, The Robert Foley Band, when he's not in the cellar or scuba diving.
Abe Schoener, a New Yorker and scholar, just might be found reading Homer's Illiad in Greek around the winery. He was a professor of Ancient Philosophy at St John's College before pursuing a wine internship with John Kongsgaard. He runs Scholium Project, a winery rooted in the philosophical belief that only by experimenting at the precipice of disaster can we challenge our understanding of what wines can be- and create new ones. Abe Schoener defies the standard issue image of a second career winemaker. This former Assistant Dean considered himself an academia lifer. In 1998, he headed to San Fransisco for his sabbatical. He took an internship at Stags Leap Wine Cellars, and then on to study with John Kongsgaard. He has made wine for Luna, Maldonado, Tenbrick to before starting his own winery Scholium Project.
Christopher Nicoloson is the resident winemaker at Red Hook Winery. He began his career in winemaking in the 1990's as a farm apprentice at a small organic property in Tuscany. Soon after he met Abe Schoener, who sponsored and mentored him in California. Christopher spent three harvests as a cellar hand under Ted Lemon at Littorai, and an additional harvest in Italy under Franco Bernabei at Selvapiana in Chianti Rufina. When he is not making wine at Red Hook Winery, he is running his own commercial fishing vessels in Bristol Bay, Alaska where he and his family fish for wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon.
Marquita Levy is a native of Evanston Illinois, and a verified wine freak. After graduating from the University of Chicago with a BA in Political Science, she worked for the University while pursuing her love of Dance. She had not intended to pursue wine. It was the happy accident of working in a restaurant in Chicago that had mandatory wine training. Her first restaurant job was in an Italian restaurant that required their waitstaff to study wine extensively in order to represent their award of excellence wine list. She received her certificate and pin in Vinification and Viticulture from the American Sommelier Association in 2004. She is an avid reader, cat lady, cook, photographer, and lover of languages.
The Owl’s Head
Since 2011, The Owl’s Head has poured Bay Ridge an eclectic, distinct, and affordable selection of global wines and craft beers, paired with ever-evolving menu of savory and sweet artisanal bites. The offerings are served in a rustic setting that pays homage to the original design of the 1904 building.
A handcrafted bar top rough hewn from a single maple tree complements the restored tin ceilings and brick walls of the dining room.
The Owl’s Head provides an intimate atmosphere to enjoy some great wine and beer, tasty bites and good conversation with friends and family.
John Avelluto, co-owner and operator of The Owls Head Wine Bar, was born in Gravesend, Brooklyn and attended Brooklyn College, acquiring a BA in English and subsequently an MFA in Visual Art. Since then he has gone on to exhibit his work both nationally and abroad while remaining active as a conduit for arts in the public sphere. In 2014 John was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Brooklyn Culture by Brooklyn Magazine. He lives in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn where he lives and works with his wife and two daughters.
The Red Hook Winery is one of only three wineries in the boro and we’ll have the chance to meet the winemaking staff at the Owl’s Head, the most intimate and unique wine bar in Brooklyn.
The Red Hook Winery, founded in 2008, makes wines from grapes grown on the North Fork of Long and the Finger Lakes. We will have the privilege of meeting Marquita Levy, the winery’s pourer and tour guide and John Avelluto, the Owl’s Head owner. Marquita will work together to guide us through a tasting of the winery’s selections.
The Red Hook staff:
Robert Foley began his wine making career in the Napa Valley in 1977, working at a number of highly regarded Napa Valley wineries, including the famous Pride Mountain Vineyards, where he spent 15 years as founding winemaker. During this period, he also created the highly acclaimed Switchback Ridge, Hourglass, Paloma, School House, and Engel Family wines. When he's not making wine, he spends time with his wife and business manager Kelly Kehoe, his two children, and his two granddaughters. You can also find Bob jamming with his rock n roll group, The Robert Foley Band, when he's not in the cellar or scuba diving.
Abe Schoener, a New Yorker and scholar, just might be found reading Homer's Illiad in Greek around the winery. He was a professor of Ancient Philosophy at St John's College before pursuing a wine internship with John Kongsgaard. He runs Scholium Project, a winery rooted in the philosophical belief that only by experimenting at the precipice of disaster can we challenge our understanding of what wines can be- and create new ones. Abe Schoener defies the standard issue image of a second career winemaker. This former Assistant Dean considered himself an academia lifer. In 1998, he headed to San Fransisco for his sabbatical. He took an internship at Stags Leap Wine Cellars, and then on to study with John Kongsgaard. He has made wine for Luna, Maldonado, Tenbrick to before starting his own winery Scholium Project.
Christopher Nicoloson is the resident winemaker at Red Hook Winery. He began his career in winemaking in the 1990's as a farm apprentice at a small organic property in Tuscany. Soon after he met Abe Schoener, who sponsored and mentored him in California. Christopher spent three harvests as a cellar hand under Ted Lemon at Littorai, and an additional harvest in Italy under Franco Bernabei at Selvapiana in Chianti Rufina. When he is not making wine at Red Hook Winery, he is running his own commercial fishing vessels in Bristol Bay, Alaska where he and his family fish for wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon.
Marquita Levy is a native of Evanston Illinois, and a verified wine freak. After graduating from the University of Chicago with a BA in Political Science, she worked for the University while pursuing her love of Dance. She had not intended to pursue wine. It was the happy accident of working in a restaurant in Chicago that had mandatory wine training. Her first restaurant job was in an Italian restaurant that required their waitstaff to study wine extensively in order to represent their award of excellence wine list. She received her certificate and pin in Vinification and Viticulture from the American Sommelier Association in 2004. She is an avid reader, cat lady, cook, photographer, and lover of languages.
The Owl’s Head
Since 2011, The Owl’s Head has poured Bay Ridge an eclectic, distinct, and affordable selection of global wines and craft beers, paired with ever-evolving menu of savory and sweet artisanal bites. The offerings are served in a rustic setting that pays homage to the original design of the 1904 building.
A handcrafted bar top rough hewn from a single maple tree complements the restored tin ceilings and brick walls of the dining room.
The Owl’s Head provides an intimate atmosphere to enjoy some great wine and beer, tasty bites and good conversation with friends and family.
John Avelluto, co-owner and operator of The Owls Head Wine Bar, was born in Gravesend, Brooklyn and attended Brooklyn College, acquiring a BA in English and subsequently an MFA in Visual Art. Since then he has gone on to exhibit his work both nationally and abroad while remaining active as a conduit for arts in the public sphere. In 2014 John was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Brooklyn Culture by Brooklyn Magazine. He lives in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn where he lives and works with his wife and two daughters.
