Grand Cru Wine Consulting

Grand Cru Wine Consulting is the discerning choice for collectors seeking fine and rare wine concierge services. We offer a full portfolio of services including acquisitions, liquidation, cellar management, private events, gifts and travel planning. Our relationships on a global level allow us consistent access to the world’s greatest wines and winemakers. Our ability to provide impeccable execution and unbiased advice is second to none.

Our goal is to provide the highest level of service to a select number of clients in order to maintain focus. We prefer to work closely with our clients in order to identify their preferences and long-term/short-term goals for their collections. We are dedicated to building lasting relationships based on integrity, execution and mutual trust. We have clients whose objectives include personal consumption, investment and entertaining. We regularly review our clients’ purchases and inventory to make sure their collections continue to reflect their high standards.

Listed below are examples of Grand Cru Wine Consulting's services. By no means are we limited to them. We are happy to hear about any of your wine related needs.

Acquisitions

We will identify and locate wines for clients based on their needs and preferences. The primary sources include auctions, private cellars, retail and overseas purchases. Provenance will play a critical role – no wine will be purchased indiscriminately. If necessary, a member of Grand Cru will inspect bottles prior to purchase to verify authenticity, bottle conditions and proper storage.

Liquidation

When clients are looking to sell parts of their collection, we will manage the process and present the collection to numerous potential buyers. By leveraging our industry relationships, we can ensure that top profits are realized.

Appraisals

We offer appraisals of our clients' collections for investment, reselling and insurance purposes. Values listed are based on current market data compiled from auction houses, retailers and brokers.

Cellar Management

We will provide accurate and effective reporting on the wines our clients have at all times. A complete physical inventory can be taken with a customized system to track incoming and outgoing wines. If clients are looking to place wines into storage we will research the facilities that are most suited to their needs. We also offer cellar evaluations to check for bottle authenticity and conditions.

Restaurant Wine Lists

We can arrange for sales and consignments to develop restaurant wine lists into award winning programs. We regularly work with some of the country's top restaurants including Daniel, Blue Hill and Locanda Verde among others.

Private Events

We will arrange and execute professional wine service for personal or corporate events. We can also have an acclaimed chef prepare dishes to complement the featured wines. If desired, a lecture by a member of the Grand Cru team can accompany the evening.

Travel Planning

We can organize dream vacations to wine country for large or small parties. Appointments at esteemed Domaines and Chateaux, dinners and wine list suggestions will all be arranged. A member of Grand Cru can also accompany the group acting as a guide.

Gifts

When purchasing gifts, there is a difference in simply finding a bottle of wine and finding the right bottle of wine for the right person. We will customize each gift to make sure the receiver is elated with their new found wine.

We will provide accurate and effective reporting on the wines our clients have at all times. A complete physical inventory can be taken with a customized system put in place to track incoming and outgoing wines. We are familiar with a variety of methods to track and manage collections. Our preferred online database system to use is Cellar Tracker which is the most robust and user friendly. We also regularly use systems such as Vinfolio and eSommelier while some clients simply prefer to keep their wines on a customized spreadsheet. We are very flexible and will work with whatever method is best suited to the needs of the individual. We also offer cellar evaluations to check for bottle authenticity.

CORE TEAM

The core team consists of today’s most knowledgeable and experienced fine wine professionals: Robert Bohr, David Beckwith, Ned Benedict, Grant Reynolds and Jennifer Schulz. We represent extensive experience in all aspects of the wine industry, from auctions to retail to consulting and fine dining services. What distinguishes Grand Cru is our hands-on approach to all aspects of your collection. The four of us will personally oversee and execute the processes involved to ensure our clients are constantly receiving the finest expertise available.

Robert Bohr

robert@grandcruwc.com
After a decade of working in several of New York’s greatest wine programs, Robert Bohr has positioned himself as one of the finest Sommeliers in America. He began by receiving an informal wine education at Gramercy Tavern under the expert guidance of Paul Grieco. His passion for Italian wines led him to work at Babbo, the 3-star flagship restaurant of Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich. In 2001, Robert became a Sommelier at Daniel where he continued his education on the great Domaines of France while perfecting his fine dining service skills. Robert’s next move was to become a wine buyer at Zachys where he oversaw the regions of Burgundy, Germany and Austria. In 2004, CRU was founded with Robert being the Wine Director, General Manager and a Partner. CRU’s wine program features 4,000 selections and 120,000 total bottles of the world’s finest and rarest wines, most of which were personally selected by Robert. In addition, he has spent the past eight summers in the Hamptons at Nick and Toni’s as their weekend Sommelier while managing their wine program on an on-going basis. For the last several years Robert has traveled extensively to France and Italy where he has forged close friendships with many of his favorite winemakers. He has also been featured in numerous articles in both Food and Wine and Wine Spectator.

David Beckwith

(917)280-3790 • david@grandcruwc.com
David comes to Grand Cru Wine Consulting with expertise in all aspects of the fine wine industry. Soon after starting his career at Zachys Wine & Liquor, he joined the Zachys Wine Auctions team as a Specialist, personally overseeing more than $16 million worth of consignments. His responsibilities included appraisals, market research, bottle assessments, rare wine authenticity and inventory management. David’s passion then drove him to work as a Sommelier at Babbo, Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich’s flagship restaurant where he further developed his knowledge of both fine wine service and Italian wines. Prior to joining Grand Cru Wine Consulting, David held the position of East Coast Wine Director for California-based Vintrust where he was responsible for dozens of private clients utilizing Vintrust’s wine buying and cellar management services. David has assisted with wine events throughout the country such as La Paulee, Napa Valley Wine Auction, Naples Wine Festival plus numerous private dinners at homes and esteemed restaurants. He has also worked elite wine events with some of America's most respected wine critics, notably Robert Parker of the Wine Advocate, Allen Meadows of Burghound and John Gilman of View from the Cellar.

Ned Benedict

(917) 455-4180 • ned@grandcruwc.com
Ned joins Grand Cru Wine Consulting from Zachys Wine & Liquor, where he was the Head Wine Buyer and personally managed the Burgundy, Germany, Alsace, and Rhone departments for 7 years. Due to Ned's carefully curated selections, Zachys' Burgundy retail program tripled in size and became one of the most respected in the country. Ned's love of wine - specifically Burgundy - stems from over 15 years experience in New York City fine dining restaurants. During Ned's tenure at the original Bouley, he took his first trip to Burgundy for the 1991 vintage and helped select exclusive bottlings for the restaurant (and still has fond recollections of '87 Mugnier Musigny for $125!). Ned later applied his knowledge of wine and food matching to the Wine Director position at Aureole. He worked towards establishing Aureole's current wine program and, along the way, encountered many of the winemakers whom he still works with today - Jeremy Seysses, Wells Guthrie and Elena Pantaleoni among others. Ned was very excited to join his friends at Grand Cru Wine Consulting in April 2009 and is prepared to revolutionize the world of wine, one glass at a time!

Grant Reynolds

(518) 338-6716 • grant@grandcruwc.com
In a short span of time, Grant Reynolds has worked with some of the world's greatest wine professionals and restaurants. While still in high school he moved to Piemonte, Italy where he was first introduced to wine. After returning home he moved to Boulder, Colorado where he began working under the venerable Bobby Stuckey at Frasca Food and Wine. Under the guidance of both Bobby and Wine Director Matthew Mather, Grant has been recognized as one of the country's leading young Sommeliers and passed the Advanced exam through the Court of Master Sommeliers. In the fall of 2012, Grant travelled throughout Europe working and visiting some of the world's greatest domaines and restaurants. After harvest at Domaine Dujac he spent 3 months at Noma, currently the world's best restaurant. While in Burgundy he first met Robert Bohr who invited him to New York to become the sommelier at his newest venture, Charlie Bird, and to work with Grand Cru Wine Consulting as a Sommelier and consultant.

Jennifer Schulz

jennifer@grandcruwc.com
Jennifer joins us from a diverse business background and has a wonderful entrepreneurial spirit. As a former accounts manager, she has represented large and start-up corporate entities. She is an organizational wiz and her focus at Grand Cru Wine Consulting will be client cellar management and coordination of logistics. As a business development enthusiast, Jennifer is excited to join the Grand Cru team and learn everything there is to know about the wine industry.

"I would strongly recommend Robert Bohr and David Beckwith to any serious collector of fine wines. I've worked extensively with both of them and find them incredibly knowledgeable, honest and helpful. They have wisdom on wine beyond their years and are universally respected by collectors. Their breadth of contacts and closeness to the market make them an invaluable resource."
- Tom Tuft, Chairman, Global Capital Markets Advisory, Lazard
"I have worked with Robert Bohr for several years and have found him to have incredible taste, judgment and integrity. He and the members of Grand Cru Wine Consulting always have my best interests at heart and are my key resource for collecting and drinking fine wine."
- Michael D. Fascitelli, CEO, Vornado Realty Trust

"In the past decade, Robert Bohr has perfected his massive knowledge of wine with endless tasting and countless trips to the best wine regions of the world. Today, he is one of the finest wine experts in our industry with a discriminating palate and a sharp nose. Grand Cru Wine Consulting is the ultimate pairing with any future collector or busy wine advocate who wishes to extend their knowledge and collection of wine."
- Chef Daniel Boulud www.danielnyc.com

"When you have a member of Grand Cru Wine Consulting working for you, everything wine related falls perfectly into place including fine dining. Imagine the experience your clients, close friends or family will have when your own personal Sommelier is sitting at the table with you. We discuss the wine selections days in advance so we can relax and enjoy dinner. My Grand Cru advisor knows what I like to drink, what my client likes to drink, what I have in my collection and how to pair it with our food. Grand Cru will bring a special expertise to your table that will enhance your dining pleasure and make it extraordinary."
- Gerry Gaudet, A.V.P., Tullett Prebon

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