About Us
brian robinson
The Name ‘Gnarly Vines’
To produce great wine, a vine has to suffer. Old, gnarled vines survive inhospitable growing conditions by developing deep, complex root systems that twist and turn through rock and soil in search of water and nutrients. These low-yielding vines produce smaller, more concentrated grapes, resulting in a more complex, intense and memorable wine.
To say that the best wines come from gnarly vines is not a slogan – it’s a fact.
Gnarly Vines Philosophy
Wine is first and foremost about enjoyment. Sounds obvious, but too often wine ‘experts’ tell people what they should and shouldn’t like. At Gnarly Vines, we’ll turn you on to what we like, but encourage you to trust your palate and draw your own conclusions.
We have an adventurous, open-minded approach to wine and celebrate its diversity. We consider wine to be an integral part of the dining experience and appreciate the array of flavors and sensations that are created when wine is paired with food.
There’s more quality wine being produced today than ever before. To whittle down the number of choices, we focus on what we believe in – small-production, handcrafted wines made by uncompromising winemakers who are responsible stewards of the earth. Most importantly, we won’t put a wine on our shelves unless we actually like it.
Email list
If you would like to be notified of our regular, free in-store tastings, specials and other events, please join our mailing list using the form below. We promise to keep it private and use it sparingly.
Shipping & Delivery
Free Same Night Local Delivery.
Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Bed-Stuy and most surrounding neighborhoods ($20 minimum).
Free delivery throughout NYC, Westchester and Nassau ($100 or one case minimum).
Shipping beyond New York: Available where interstate wine shipment is allowed. Please inquire about shipping & handling.
Brian Robinson, Gnarly Vines’ Founder and Owner
Brian, a Fort Greene resident, has over a decade of experience as a wine specialist. His passion for wine was ignited while living in France as an exchange student in 1989. After returning to the States, Brian began studying and collecting wine on his own. He launched his formal wine career on Bastille Day in 1997 when he became the Director of the Wine Auction Department at Phillips Auctioneers.
He has also served as the lead wine specialist for Christies and as the East Coast Director for Winebid.com.
Brian has led many private and corporate wine-tasting events, including an Introduction to Wine Pleasure as well as an eight part series at the Penn Club called France versus The World. He is a partner/board member at the Tasting Room, a critically-acclaimed restaurant with an award winning wine list. Before opening Gnarly Vines, Robinson served as The Tasting Room’s Wine Director and CFO. In 2005, Brian received the prestigious Diploma from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust and holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
6 rules for enjoying wine:
- 1. Always buy by the case. It’s the way to get discounts.
- 2. Taste before you buy.
- 3. Learn about wine in social, not academic, settings. That’s how you’ll get pleasure from wine.
- 4. Ignore critics and develop your own palate.
- 5. Recognize that your tastes will change. Don’t buy 30 cases of your favorite wine.
- 6. Don’t be afraid to spend $10 on a bottle of wine. There are plenty of great wines at that price. Only snobbishness prevents people from seeing that.
Excerpted from brooklynpaper.com
