Andrew Harwood founded NYC wine company in the spring of 2002, bringing with him his years of experience in some of the world’s best vineyards and wine cellars. And while he continues to manage several winemaking projects, his desire to help others ‘find their own palate’ keeps him firmly rooted here in New York City.

Prior to making wine, he spent two years as the Assistant Wine Director of Picholine until, in 1997, the urge to get his hands dirty led him to the vineyards of Tokaj, Hungary. After returning to the states, he earned his Master of Management in Hospitality from Cornell University while working at Bordeaux’s Chateau Lynch-Bages between semesters.

Following graduation, he spent two years as the Assistant Winemaker of Limerick Lane Cellars in Sonoma, California. Here, he worked hand in hand with owner Michael Collins, who taught him not only winemaking as an art form, but also the importance of place, and the meaning of dedication. It is people like this, and the wines they produce, that Andrew so eagerly champions.

As of May 2020, Andrew has returned to Healdsburg, California, where he is now farming ten acres of old vine Zinfandel and Syrah, as well as starting his own winery, Workshop Cellars, whose inaugural release will be in April 2022.

He has been featured in Newsweek, ABC News, The Wall Street Journal, Allure, The Daily News, Fox News, and The New York Times, and has written for Beverage Media and The Beer Necessities.

Melissa Iacono, Chef & Events

Melissa joined our team in 2017, and wears many hats.  To our wine dinners and private events, she brings her culinary skills, yet with her penchant for getting her hands dirty, she is also a founding member of our winemaking project, launched in 2018, and based out of Healdsburg, California.  Melissa was an active member of our first harvest in 2018, helping to turn two tons of old-vine Zinfandel into four barrels of wine.  Soon as those four barrels become 100 cases of bottled wine, she'll be with us every step of the way as we bring it to market.  But first, harvest 2019, and our plans for 300 cases!

Adrian Murcia, Guest Speaker

Adrian Murcia has been the Fromager at Chanterelle Restaurant for the past two years and is also Cellar Assistant to Master Sommelier Roger Dagorn. Before joining the Chanterelle dining room staff in 2000, he worked for three years at Picholine, where he developed a passion for all things fermented under the tutelage of Maitre Fromager Max McCalman.

Upon receiving his Sommelier accreditation from the American Sommelier Association (ASA) in 2001, he was one of thirty sommeliers from around the country to participate in the ASA's Best Sommelier in America Competition, held in November 2002. He placed 1st in the "Harmony of Wine and Food" component, and 13th overall.

In 2000, he was a awarded a travel grant from the London-based Geoffrey Roberts Foundation (whose selection committee was chaired by Jancis Robinson MW). This enabled him to spend a month in southwestern Spain visiting producers of the celebrated Jamón Ibérico de Bellota, the ultra-premium Spanish ham made from free-ranging, acorn-fattened Iberian pigs.

Since 2002 he has been a wine instructor for NYC Wine Class, most recently creating his own seminar series that was kicked off with "The Undiscovered Wonders of Spain," based on his September 2003 tour of Catalunya, Navarra, and País Vasco. Through these seminars as well as through his role as Fromager at Chanterelle, Adrian has an outlet to share with others his love of food, wine, and the people who create these amazing products.