Brooklyn Spotlight: Rooftop Reds
What’s the only thing better than wine in the summertime? Wine in the summertime on a rooftop with a slice of pizza and “The Birdcage” playing on a projector.
This is the experience every Thursday at Rooftop Reds, a rooftop vineyard located in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. It’s a little tough to find and while you’re making your way up to the roof, you may question whether you even know where you’re going. But once you open the doors and see the sprawling turf, grape vines, and wine drunk city-folk swinging on hammocks, you’ll know you’re in the right place.
photo by Ali Collins @aliicollins
Rooftop Reds was founded by a man named Devin Shomaker. It started as a viticulture college project that inspired the world’s first ever rooftop vineyard. The vineyard officially opened to the public in April 2016 and their first harvest was in October 2017. Shomaker expects the first bottles of wine made from rooftop grapes to be ready in 2019. However, he’s planning for only 30 cases – a limited stock with a whopping price tag of $1,000 a bottle.
If you want to visit the vineyard, have no fear. You don’t have to spend $1,000. The Rooftop Reds tasting room is currently stocked with an affordable selection of wines made from grapes sourced in New York’s Finger Lakes region. Throughout the summer, Rooftop Reds hosts movie nights, yoga classes, viticulture tours, and pop-up dining experiences. Or you can just go on a chill night to try some wines, get a cheese picnic, and take in the gorgeous Brooklyn views.
Location: Rooftop Reds, The Navy Yard - 299 Sands Street, Building 275, Brooklyn, NY 11205
Hours: Friday 4-10pm, Saturday: 12-10:00pm, Sunday: 12-8pm
