About Robert

Robert leads Grand Cru Selections as a 20 plus year veteran in the New York City hospitality business. He entered the restaurant business at 13, but it wasn’t until college, working his way through New York University at Gramercy Tavern, that he decided that a career in wine was more interesting than becoming a lawyer. He went on to play an integral part of the incubation of several new wine programs including Babbo, Nick & Toni’s and CRU Restaurant. During these years, he found his passion for Burgundy while perfecting his fine-dining skills. Robert expanded his Old World palate with work as a wine buyer at Zachys, where he oversaw acquisitions from Burgundy, Germany, and Champagne. Following the successful launch of three popular New York City restaurants: Charlie Bird, Pasquale Jones and Legacy Records, Robert teamed up with his long-time industry wine partner, Ned Benedict, to launch Grand Cru Selections with the goal of growing a meaningful and sustainable business for their clients and family of growers.

Robert serves on the board of No Kid Hungry’s The Monday Fund, an organization with a goal of ending childhood hunger in the United States. He lives in Paris with his wife, Jordan, and their two boys Henry and Ronan.

About Elise

Elise was born and raised in Kansas City, Mo, an only child and avid reader she made her way to Grinnell College in Iowa to study literature. After college she moved to New York City and began working as a server and bartender in both Brooklyn and Manhattan. After meeting Robert Bohr in 2002 and following his advice, she began working at Washington Park and soon after opened Cru which began a whirlwind education in fine wine. After a two year hiatus in Westhampton Beach, Elise returned to NYC, only to work once again with Robert. In 2009 she helped form Grand Cru Selections. As one of the founding members, she is proud to have been part of the journey and progression of the company from day one and is excited to see what the future holds.

About Heather

As the Chief of Staff for Grand Cru Selections, Heather supports Robert and the team with special projects. Prior to joining GCS, Heather's career spanned more than two decades with New York City's Union Square Hospitality Group. Her most recent role was Director of Special Events and Partnerships at The Modern, in association with The Museum of Modern Art. During her tenure, Heather and her team were responsible for creating over 5000 memorable events. Outside of work, Heather enjoys gardening, cycling and paddle boarding.

About Thomas

Born & bred in New York, Thomas studied neurobiology and classical piano at Cornell University, and all the while worked in restaurants to pay-off his student loans. In January 2011, Thomas diverted from his path toward a medical career, and took on the role of Wine Director at Chef Tom Colicchio’s restaurant Colicchio & Sons in New York City, and would soon thereafter join the team behind world-renowned Eleven Madison Park to create The NoMad in Spring 2012. He opened The NoMad as its Wine Director & helped it achieve its 3-Star New York Times rating within a few months of its opening, later moving into the role of Executive Wine Director of all of the NoMad properties. In the years since, Thomas was chosen as a Best New Sommelier by Wine & Spirits Magazine, recognized as one of Forbes' 30 Under 30, and was named one of Food & Wine’s Sommeliers of the Year. Additionally, Thomas has gotten into the world of winemaking, launching three exciting new wine labels: Terrassen in 2013, Empire Estate in 2014, and VINNY in 2018, all with a focus on New York's rising upstate wine region, the Finger Lakes. Thomas joined Grand Cru Selections in the Summer of 2021 as its VP of Sales & Hospitality, excited to bring his passion & experience in the wine & restaurant industry over to the world of imports & distribution, through the lens of the exciting portfolio that Grand Cru Selections has grown & curated over its years in business.

About Rocky

Four decades ago Rocky was born in Korea to a non-wine drinking household. Her parents still do not understand what she does for a living. After partying out of Vassar, she found herself like many a young folk waiting tables in NYC. She has worked at Cru, Gotham Bar & Grill, L’impero and Le Bernardin (as well as a brief mid-life crisis stint working in International Tax at Ernst & Young). Rocky sold all of her bitcoins too early and will be at GCS for the foreseeable future. She is enormously grateful to be working with the best team and growers, and drinking the finest wines in all the land.

About Kyle

Kyle grew up in Denver, CO. When it was time for college he enrolled at Colorado State where he began his study of fermented beverages starting with beer. Occasionally he attended class. To pay for his new hobby, he got a job bussing tables at an Italian restaurant. To this day, he will tell you that the best two jobs in restaurants are bussing tables and serving fancy wine. He eventually graduated. Little is known about the five years following college, but eventually he turned up in New York City. Soon after arriving, he took a job at a new restaurant called Charlie Bird. The combination of hip hop and fine wine suited him well, and after two years, he went on to open its sister restaurants -- Pasquale Jones and Legacy Records, during which the focus shifted fully to wine. Over the course of these years he became friendly with the Grand Cru Selections people and wine, so after three restaurant openings in a row, taking a job at GCS seemed like the perfect next step.

About Rachel

Born and raised on the west coast of Canada, the countryside was simply second nature to Rachel. It wasn’t until she relocated to Montreal at seventeen that she fell into service and hospitality. A passion derived from language, travel, culture, food and wine. Rachel began her wine career in 2010 when hired to run the beverage program at a quaint but fast-paced restaurant called L’Orignal. After a couple wonderful years, she left the winter behind and move to Southern California. Throughout the next few years she would work as a sommelier at some of Los Angeles’ and New York City’s top Beverage Programs; including Osteria Mozza, République and The NoMad Hotel.

Though restaurants were a way of life, an opportunity impossible to pass up in imports and distribution was introduced in 2015. Since then she hasn't looked back.

About Laura

Born and raised in Sancerre, Loire Valley, Laura grew up surrounded by vineyards and talented wine producers. While her family was not directly in the wine business, her father was a chef and wine was always a big part of family gatherings - she cut her teeth on Grand Cru Classé Bordeaux even if today the grown "kids" insist on drinking Champagne and Burgundy. Realizing there was more to discover, she took her studies to Burgundy, where she completed her Master’s Degree in Wine Business at the Burgundy School of Business in Dijon. During her studies, she sought several long-term internships, which led her to work in China for about two years. Shortly after her graduation in 2012, a renowned Sancerre winery approached her to represent their wines in the United States and while she didn’t know much about America, she was confident she could sell her hometown wines anywhere. Over the next few years, she met her future husband in wine, improved her ‘Merican English drastically, and fell in love with NYC's incredible energy. In 2014, Diva USA introduced her to the top professionals in the wine industry and she gained experience in managing distributors. So, by 2016, when a friend from T. Edward Wines encouraged her to pursue a brand manager position for Champagne Billecart-Salmon, she jumped at the opportunity. Naturally, her overall expertise of the Champagne region grew alongside her Billecart post. Selling Champagne is an art on its own, it comes with passion and perseverance. Fine dining allowed her further exploration into the world of grower Champagne and she became especially fond of drinking many within Grand Cru Selection's portfolio. This growing aspiration to one day represent these growers has finally become a reality. 

About Yumiko

Yumiko was born and grew up in Japan. When she was 15 years old, she became a foreign exchange student and spent a year in California. She was amazed to see the U.S. culture and promised herself to come back. After she graduated from college in Tokyo, she joined Goldman Sachs to work on a trading floor and that brought her to New York in 2011 and she worked for Nomura Securities till 2015. She launched a sake importing company, Sake Suki in 2013. There were not many craft sake found in NY back then. She missed drinking her local craft sake so much and that became the motivation of importing. The first container arrived in 2016 and joined GCS right after. Her passion is to introduce small but beautiful craft sake producers to you!

About Rachel

Born in California and raised in North Carolina, food and hospitality was an early passion for Rachel. While kitchens were always a familiar place she discovered her interest in wine while studying at the Culinary Institute of America. After graduating she worked in the dining room at The Modern for 3 years before leaving to open Restaurant Gabriel Kreuther in 2015 as the Service Director. She joined the GCS team in the summer of 2021 and is enjoying the process of adding a whole new set of tools and tricks to her hospitality repertoire. When not sipping wine or cooking with friends she likes to spend time in her garden or taking trips to local farms where she fantasizes about raising chickens and goats.

About Gianina

When looking at how this all started, a career in wine was not something Gianina ever predicted. Originally born and raised in Alaska, she received her BS in Finance from Penn State University with a minor in Economics and then started her Wall Street career. After spending 12 years on the street, she was undergoing a realization that her passion was outside of her day to day profession. Her passion for wine and desire to spend her days working in a field she loves led to a full commitment of a career in the wine industry. She’s worked every position from intern, retail sales, and store management to direct winery sales in Sonoma California. She joined the team in Fall of 2019 and enjoys her work as the woman responsible for the state of New Jersey on behalf of Grand Cru Selections.

About Michael

One might say Michael came from humble roots, and not necessarily indigenous ones at that, born of Long Island baby-boomers who fled to the frozen shore of Lake Ontario. Nothing wine related grew there then. Food was mostly sustenance, nothing to stimulate a passion. In fact, there was very little of any cultivation that could fuel artistic exploration. Being naturally curious, he set off to study painting and sculpture, supported financially by a dip into the restaurant world. That whirlpool drew him in, centered in New York City at the height of the 90s celebrity chef explosion and flung him to all corners of the wine world as a Wine Director at Gotham Bar & Grill. A dozen years later, Michael transitioned to wine imports and sales where he developed a capacity to share all he had learned along the way, to anyone that will listen. With the wide breadth of ideas and cultures offered by the growers, friends and family here at GCS, he thinks he's found plenty in which to keep a questioning mind richly nourished….and, in the end, a stellar place to root-down.

About Amanda

Amanda spent her childhood shuttling back and forth between Chicago and a small village in Provence. Bilingual and bicultural, she got her start in the wine business and developed her passion for Burgundy while working for Daniel Johnnes and La Paulée in New York. She moved to France in 2010 to gain experience in winemaking working for Dominique Lafon of Domaine des Comtes Lafon in Meursault, fell in love with a Frenchman and decided to make the move permanent. Since then, she has spent countless hours in cellars throughout France, tasting with and learning from some of the best winemakers in the world. She has collaborated with Robert since 2017 on various special projects including direct to consumer sales. Today, Amanda serves as a liaison with our French growers and helps manage relationships on the ground in France. She is honored to be part of the team and is excited to see what the future holds!

About Angela

Angela was born and raised in Boulder, Colorado. While studying Journalism and Italian at the University of Colorado she wanted to further her education in old world wine and sought out a position with local italophile and hospitalian Bobby Stuckey at Frasca Food&Wine. Not long after graduating, Angela took off to work harvest in Napa Valley and set her sights on Thomas Keller’s French Laundry, working through the ranks to become a Captain. Years later, she was offered a position at Keller's Per Se in NYC in 2013. One winter, Angela booked a solo voyage to Europe where she trampled through cellars in Burgundy and serendipitously met her now-husband, a winemaker. She moved to Italy in 2015, first to work at a historic restaurant in Turin in Piedmont before landing a position for a Strategic Communications Agency in Florence. In her 6 year tenure, she worked with some of the most important names in Italian wine and hospitality, honing skills in bilingual but also bi-cultural communication. She’s well practiced in the art of Italian complications and has mastered the language (with a slightly Tuscan accent!), which tends to help when navigating the beautiful and complex world of Italian wine! Today, Angela is the GCS liaison in support of the Italian growers to help manage things on the ground from her home in Florence.

About Patricia

Patricia grew up in Meursault, where one has a virtual obligation in adolescence to harvest the grapes every year for pocket money. Despite this natural upbringing, she was not initially attracted to work in the wine trade. However, her appreciation for gastronomy and the opportunities to taste beautiful bottles made her change her mind. Her life path and professional experiences have allowed her to see many different facets of the wine world - from the wine estate where everything begins, to the wine merchant, to the wine broker,etc... After she was introduced to Robert in 2011 by two Meursault producers, she enthusiastically accepted he and Ned’s proposal to join the Grand Cru Sélections team in 2013. The first producer she worked directly with was Fred Savart and the rest is history.

Pat currently lives in Paris and is the loving mother of two young adults, Mathilde and Jean. She is very happy of being a part of Grand Cru Selections and its amazing growing team!

About Clare

Clare grew up in Rochester, New York, where there was often a bottle of Finger Lakes riesling on the dinner table. After graduating from Boston University, she relocated to Washington DC to work in her field of international communications. However, when an opportunity to work the wine harvest in northern California presented, she enlisted her sister to drive cross-country to Carneros and get their hands dirty. That was it - loving everything about wine country, she stayed on after harvest, working the tasting room and devouring all their wine books. She moved back East for an Assistant Sommelier position at New York's Tribeca Grill - whose deep Rhone cellar led her to working her first vendange in Châteauneuf-du-Pape at Le Vieux Donjon. She spent several happy years working the floor as a sommelier at Gotham Bar & Grill until she was tapped by Liz Willette to join GCS as one of their first NYC sales reps in 2012. When the pandemic hit & turned priorities upside down, this long-time urbanite decamped to Normandy until things "went back to normal" which turned into a permanent relocation to France. Now, after a short hiatus, Clare is thrilled to rejoin the GCS family, wearing a slightly different hat - having the privilege of closer proximity to our European growers to help tell their unique stories. Today she splits her time between Paris and Normandy with her partner & petit sidekick, Émile.

About Alexandra

Raised in Long Island, Alex is perhaps the only one on the team to come from a non-restaurant background--unless you count frequently dining at them. Alex’s true background is in health and social sciences, coupled with a long-term basketball career that ended with her collegiate studies. Prior to Grand Cru, Alex worked administrative roles at The Rohatyn Group, and MLB Advanced Media. After joining the team in early 2019, she has been able to apply her technical abilities while working in operations. She has since then become invested in learning more about wine and the industry, and takes pride in supporting the team.

About Kelsie

Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Kelsie is a brand new resident of NYC. She originally wanted to go to medical school but quickly changed her mind when she started in the hospitality industry at the age of 20. Very early on, she decided food and beverage were “her thing.” She was slinging drinks at a high paced restaurant in the heart of Old Town Scottsdale for years while using her hard earned money to travel to places like Japan and Thailand (her favorite place) and NYC too many times to count. When the pandemic hit, she was forced out of the restaurant and landed in the mortgage business. She enjoyed working in operations but not for loans, her heart belongs in wine! Kelsie is beyond excited to learn the business and ready to eat and drink her way through New York City!

About Eloi

Born in France, with strong roots in Brittany, Eloi was raised moving around some parts of the world (China, Switzerland) and of his country (Paris, Lyon, Lille, Nantes). After a degree in Political Science, his first professional experience was in management consulting, while cultivating a growing interest in wine by tasting and doing a grape harvest in Meursault. Following his wife’s career plans led him to Montreal, Canada, and in 2022 “down South” to New York City, where he dove into the restaurant world, helping open the Nine Orchard food and beverage program with Mattos Hospitality. After a couple months as the cellar assistant and the WSET-3 in hand, he became sommelier. Eloi joined the operations team at GCS in 2024 to continue learning about wine while discovering another side of the industry. When not planning his next sailing trip, Eloi draws his bicycle tour observations or enjoys cooking a fresh meal from the green market.

About Laurie

About Melissa

As a Native New Yorker, good food and wine (with the occasional jug of hearty burgundy:) were always around. Her father encouraged the enjoyment of both. However, having a job in those industries was not at the forefront. After majoring in economics in college, a career in finance and equity trading seemed a logical next step. However, the market downturn in 2002, and a passion for wine (aspirations of becoming a sommelier), led her to the Institute of Culinary Education, obtaining degrees in Culinary Arts and Restaurant Management. Armed with these degrees, she became part of the opening kitchen team at Kittichai (60 Thompson Hotel) with the wonderful Chef Ian Chalermkittichai. After 2 ½ years, she left the team as a Sous Chef. And soon after transitioned to the front of the house, as a reservationist at Union Square Café. This sparked a 13-year career with Union Square Hospitality Group culminating in the finance and accounting department – working with the teams at Gramercy Tavern, The Modern, Untitled at the Whitney, Tacocina, Blue Smoke, North End Grill, and Union Square Events. As with many, many, others, Covid brought an end to this chapter. Luckily, her work at USHG with Laurie Smith led to an exciting opportunity with RH Hospitality handling the accounting and finance for Porter House, Center Bar, Hudson Yards Grill, Greywind, and ZZ’s Club. And now, as good fortune would have it, joining the finance team at Grand Cru Selections. Besides good food & wine, she enjoys golf, trivia, and cooking.

About Michele

Michele started her career working in customer service, ramp and cargo for 3 major airlines at Newark International Airport. She studied and received FAA certification as an airline flight dispatcher. Michele’s employers often wanted to use her organization and detail skills more for the various regulatory reports including payroll, accounting reports, cargo manifests for airway shipments etc...She then came to realization that the airline industry took too much time away from her new husband and daughter.

In 2003, Michele decided to change career path. Due to her multitasking skills in addition to her the skills she mastered in the airline industry she was given the opportunity to work with Robert Bohr in NYC for Washington Park Restaurant, Cru Restaurant and various wine consulting businesses responsible for finances, permits, compliance and all office related duties.

At the inception of Grand Cru Selections in 2009. Michele was a founding employee at Grand Cru Selections and since the beginning has been handling administrative and financial responsibilities plus anything else that has been needed to make the company stronger.

Michele is a devoted mother of 3. Michele and husband Troy keep active in their children’s school activities as well as supporting their extra-curricular sports and drama programs.

About Kiran