Angels Share Wine

MARK SNYDER FOUNDER & OWNER Mark is a Brooklyn native whose passion for wine organically grew into a business. Mark’s first appreciation for wine began at 5 years old when his parents would create wine- tasting evenings with bottles bought from estate sales. They would pair the wines with cheese, teaching Mark about the “legs” they learned about from Peter Morrell’s wine appreciation class, letting him dab his fingers to taste the wine. Mark’s initial career began in the music world touring with Billy Joel, Peter Frampton and many other bands. His love affair with music was sealed after the purchase of his first Black Sabbath record, which led to his first guitar. Despite getting the highest SAT score in the state, Mark was expelled from at least four schools. He ended up skipping a few grades and graduating with a degree in classical guitar from the Conservatory at Brooklyn College. At age 19, he found himself on tour with the Rolling Stones. While touring the world in the music business (aka prominent AVA’s), instead of re-visiting repeated international landmarks, Mark explored the world of wine through its terroir. This led the Brooklyn native to eventually abandon his comfort zone in music and begin his next career as a wine distributor of boutique, hand-crafted wines. Mark began Angels’ Share Wines in 2004, in Red Hook, Brooklyn after a suggestion from Robert Foley to “focus on his own backyard” and abandon any other wine focus. Mark worked as a one-man show for 2-3 years before he became known for his unique portfolio, a collection of small, domestic producers of fine wine, later expanding to include a select number of European producers. The reception to the portfolio was immediate as Wine Directors and Sommeliers appreciated the brands, but also the ease with which it was to work with this small company. No leveraging of wines, no scores to sell them and no bullshit…just a guy in converse and jeans that can hang with the best of them.