About Us

We want more people to enjoy wine. Our classes are small, our teaching approach informal. Wine, after all, is one of life’s perks, and our aim is for you to enjoy it in daily life (in moderation, of course). Below are some of our regular instructors.

 

  

 
 

                                      

 Giselle Deiaco                                                              
 
Giselle started out as a journalist and worked as a political reporter prior to getting into wine. While studying in Florence, Italy, instead of reading Dante and Boccaccio, she got herself lost in the beautiful Tuscan wine country and has been hooked on wine ever since. When political reportage became onerous, she started to write about food and travel which led to a career change -- wine education. In addition to teaching, Giselle consults on restaurant wine lists and makes private label wines from her second home base in Napa.
 

                                      

 Jean-Luc Le Du                                                            

Award-winning sommelier (James Beard, Wine Spectator) and most recently wine director at Restaurant Daniel, Jean-Luc Le Du recently opened his wine store, Le Du's Wines in the West Village.

 
  
  
 

                                      

 Alessandro Lunardi                                                      

Alessandro Lunardi was born and raised in Florence, Italy.
A graduate of the School of Architecture at the University of Florence, he helped found  a management-consulting firm that dealt with the  European Union's financial programs for agriculture. The firm focused on  wineries and vineyard growers in Tuscany.

His professional involvement with Tuscan wineries sparked his passion for wine. He attended several  programs on oenology and viticulture in  Italy, and frequently traveled to other wine regions, primarily Burgundy, the Rhone Valley and California.

After moving to New York in 1995, Alessandro became wine director of Palio restaurant, where he designed a 650-label wine list that received the Wine Spectator's Best of Award of Excellence.  In 1999, he joined Luce della Vite, the Italian partnership of Robert Mondavi and Marchesi de Frescobaldi, where he was the wine educator for the U.S. market. In 2001, he moved to  the Import Division of Robert Mondavi as Eastern States area sales manager.
 

                                     

 Stephane Colling                                                          

A native of Alsace, Stephane is a veteran of three-star Michelin restaurants (Au Crocodile in Strasbourg and Michel Roux’s The Waterside Inn in Bray, England). While working at Le Winstub de Bruno Sohn in Obernai, the Bottin Gourmand cited the wine list he created the most intelligent wine list in L’Hexagone. Stephane has been published in the Guide des Sommeliers in 1998, 1999 and 2000. He worked as a sommelier at Alain Ducasse New York for two years before moving to The Modern, Danny Meyer's restaurant at the MOMA, where Stephane is now the wine director.
 
 

                                   

 Piero Incisa della Rochetta                                          

A grandson of the Marchese  Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, founder of Italy’s great Sassicaia wine,  Piero has worked for the family’s Tenuta San Guido estate as well as at  two wine properties in Umbria- Titignano and Salviano, which belong to his mother, Donna Nerina Corsini in Incisa della  Rocchetta. A cousin to the Antinoris and Cinzanos, all pioneering  winemakers in Italy, he is a visionary winemaker in his own right, and is  now deeply involved in producing one-of-a-kind, hand made (including the de-stemming process) Pinot Noir in remote Patagonia.

Piero, who grew up in the Maremma region of Italy, studied at Pepperdine University and later earned an MS degree from New York University. 
 
 

                                    

 Olivier  Masmondet                                                      

Olivier was born in the Bugey region of France, which lies between the French Alps and Beaujolais.  At 14, he attended the Bellegarde Restaurant School to study catering, cuisine and restaurant service. In 1988, he joined the Thonon Les Bains School, widely considered to be the finest school in France, earning a sommelier degree.  At 20, he became the youngest Head Sommelier in France to work for a Michelin star-rated restaurant.  In 1995, he became the Chief Sommelier of the prestigious Georges Blanc, three-star Michelin rated restaurant. After participating in many competitions, in 2000, Olivier became the youngest Master Sommelier in France at age 30. The same year, he joined Maison Louis Jadot in Burgundy as Export Manager to the United States and Italy. In 2002, he joined Kobrand Corporation as sales director for Maison Louis Jadot wines in the United States.

 Robin Kelly O'Connor                                                    

Bio being updated; picture coming soon.

 Geralyn Brostrom                                                          

Bio being updated; picture coming soon.
 

 Andre Compeyre                                                           

Bio being updated; picture coming soon.


 

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