Our doors opened on March 27th 2000, with a vision to support our neighborhood through a thoughtfully curated selection of classic and natural wines, small-batch spirits, cider and sake. We are passionate champions of small, artisan producers, mom-and-pop wineries and craft distillers and are proud to carry one of the most eclectic selections of wine and spirits in the country.
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Ben Hagen
Propietor/Wine Buyer
Ben Hagen is a Bay Area native who landed in NYC in 2002 after receiving a B.A in Theater in London. He stumbled upon Slope Cellars on a walk in his neighborhood, peeked in and met Patty (♥️) and ended up with a part time job to learn more about wine. Fast forward through the years: wine school was attended, bottles upon bottles were opened and that part time job became a full fledged career, first as wine buyer, then as partner at Slope Cellars, and now as owner. As a wine drinker, Ben is what we call an acid fiend—having an unwavering love for wines with tart, mouthwatering acidity—there’s a good chance you'll find a Chablis or a good old-school Alto Piemonte Nebbiolo in his glass. For an after dinner sipper, Ben loves the Cappellano Barolo Chinato, especially with really good dark chocolate. He’s a grateful guy who loves his job and his team.
Alejandra Guanipa
Wine & Spirits Buyer
Alejandra hails from Venezuela via the Bay Area, where she graduated from UC Berkeley. She holds a Master’s degree from NYU in Food Studies, where she explored the intersection of food, immigration, and ethnic representation in restaurants. She has twenty years of restaurant experience across every position imaginable in some of the best restaurants in the East and West coasts, including NOPA and Range in San Francisco, and the beloved but now closed Franny’s in Brooklyn. She’s worked almost solely with Italian wine for well over a decade, and was the Wine Director at Roman’s in Fort Greene, where she focused on natural wines from Italy and New York State. When she is not on the clock, Alejandra is likely cooking up a storm in her tiny Brooklyn kitchen, where there are several experimental batches of her own amaro. Lately, she’s been having a love affair with gin and finds a perfect martini exquisite.
Marco Cacciola
Spirits Advisor
A Brooklyn native through and through, Marco is Slopey’s spirited spirits encyclopedia—aka the "tall one, with the hair." When he was in high school, Marco would bring books on the stylistic differences of beer to school—but hey, it wasn't actual beer, so the teachers didn't care. He had a stint in culinary school because of both a lifelong love of cooking and reading too much Anthony Bourdain (RIP) but left because he didn't listen to Bourdain's words that the restaurant world is for a very certain type of person. Sooner than later, Marco came to love cocktails and mixing drinks. Not just the act of drinking them but specifically the history of spirits and cocktails. He is endlessly fascinated by how spirits can demonstrate the ways in which nature is controlled, morphed and concentrated into a potable liquid; chaos is grasped, made into something resembling order. The resulting product, a merriment that holds sway in human cultures worldwide. Marco would dare say it is kinda cool when you think of it that way. Talia Baiocchi's book on sherry spread Marco’s love of "drinking history" to wine. So with this newfound interest and in need of a job, Marco started working in the wine industry. Marco sees this as a way to live history and to share it with others, without having to put on a redcoat and grabbing a musket, for history like all stories is best when shared.
Daphne Gere
Sales & Operations
Daphne joins us with a background in high-end luxury fashion, where she spent over 20 years dressing some of the most stylish New Yorkers. Inspired by a passion for wine, she earned her WSET Level 2 Certification and then embarked on lengthy travel throughout Spain, working closely with winemakers in the Ribera del Duero and Catalonia. Now back in Brooklyn, Daphne brings her enthusiasm and expertise to this vibrant wine community at Slope Cellars. She's currently obsessed with Sardinian white wines, and always loves a nice Mencia from the Ribera Sacra. When not at the shop, Daphne is an accomplished musician and voice actress and can typically be found working on her craft.
Bob Mittenthal
Sales
Bob was a loyal neighborhood regular who hung around and pestered us until we offered him a job. He set aside a long and successful career writing and producing children’s TV shows to immerse himself in his true passion—wine. Bob loves all well-made wines but confesses a special fondness for “Dad Wine” (e.g., Bordeaux, Burgundy, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Barolo, etc.) especially if they’re aged. He recently drank a 1921 Sauternes and reports that it was “not good,” but he’s glad he tried it. Born and raised in the Detroit area, he graduated from the University of Michigan and is an irrationally obsessed Wolverine fan and supporter of all Detroit sports team and, oddly, Arsenal Football Club. He loves to cook and would sous vide his own head if he thought it would taste good. Bob lives in Windsor Terrace with his wife and fellow wine lover, the New York Times Arts writer, Hilarie Sheets. They have two grown children who have moved to other parts of NYC but still come back for meals.
Patty Lenartz
Founder
Patty Lenartz (née Glynn) has lived many lives and has worked just as many jobs across wildly different industries -restaurant and hospitality, public education, music and entertainment. For 23 years, and together with her husband, Bob, Patty carved and shaped the mission and ethos of our mom-and-pop wine shop in the wonderfully tight-knit neighborhood of South Slope. She's a devoted supporter of the neighborhood, and actively participates and supports groups like the Celebrate Brooklyn Friends Council, the Park Slope Chamber of Commerce, and the Brooklyn Bombers Softball team, as well as many public schools and after-school programs. Though she officially retired from slinging wine & booze in April 2023, you can still see her strutting around 7th Ave or strolling through Prospect Park with her dogs.