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At 16, he toured Europe singing in a choir. His ability to sing and accompany himself on the piano helped him get accepted to college, where he double-majored in piano and vocal.
Now in his 60’s, Wine no longer plays or sings on a stage – but he does practice piano on his circa 1908 handmade studio grand Steinway piano in his high-rise Hackensack condominium.
And he performs in another way – on the real estate stage.
Wine, who has over 35 years of experience in real estate, was recently hired by Special Properties Real Estate Services, LLC as a manager for its new Ridgewood office.
Before breaking into real estate, Wine worked in finance, a job he said did not work well with his creative side.
“Sitting in a bank, I was bored out of my mind … a musician is creative,” he said.
In his current role, he gets to use his creativity to help people find their homes.
“Everybody has a different life. Everybody has a different taste. Everybody has different desires. So everything is always different. It is challenging and it is creative and that keeps my interest level high,” he said.
Wine said he fell for the real estate industry when he was in his 20’s, when he helped an older couple purchase their first home.
“They hugged me and they said, ‘We love our home. We finally have a home of our own.’ And that was it. I was in love with real estate. I have never fallen out of love with it,” he said.
Wine was named Realtor of the Year for the state of New Jersey by the RealSource Association of Realtors in 2000. He has also served as the local Real Estate Association’s president twice, treasurer of the state-based association for two terms, and as the National RealSource Association director for three terms.
Wine said he grew up near farms in the Shenandoah Valley, and lived in Fort Lee for 15 years before getting married. He and his late wife raised their children in Glen Rock.
“I was a farm kid,” he said. “You never know who comes off the farm … you just don’t know what they are going to turn out to be.”
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