About Michelle

When her college advisor at Cal Poly suggested the school's new wine program to Michelle, her initial thought was: “wherever there is wine, is a beautiful place to live." She explored this idea further by spending a day at a local winery in San Luis Obispo. Here, she was exposed to the art of winemaking and a friendly business full of people who loved what they were doing and for her, there was no turning back. Michelle went on to graduate with a major in Agribusiness and a minor in Viticulture/Enology with a focus on Wine Business.

Michelle has worked in many areas of the wine industry. For almost 17 years, she worked directly for wineries in various roles - General Manager, National Sales, Direct Sales and even Winemaker Support. Then she went on to the distribution side for a combined 6 years. Her passion is telling the stories and helping others fall in love with the wines. When she is not working you can find her in full Mom mode to her daughter, Bailey.

About Eric

Eric Railsback’s emergence in the wine industry began taking shape in Santa Barbara nearly a decade ago. After stints at the Wine Cask and the Hungry Cat, Railsback furthered his exposure to different regions and producers at Osteria Mozza and running the wine program at Gordon Ramsey in Los Angeles. Eric has a strong connection to the wines of France after working harvests in Burgundy at Domaine Roulot and Domaine Dujac. After Santa Barbara Eric brought his talents to Michael Mina’s RN74 – a premiere Burgundy- inspired restaurant in San Francisco. There, he led a team of sommeliers for over three years before bringing it back full circle to Santa Barbara launching Lieu Dit and Railsback Freres Wineries.

About João

Born and raised in the Vinho Verde (Minho) region, in the north of Portugal, João moved to Lisbon after high school, to pursue further education and (at the time) his dream career, in the Portuguese Navy School. Despite his family background in the Port wine business, João never thought that he would pursue a career in the wine industry. However, after leaving the Navy School, a need for a quick and accessible income led João to the restaurant industry and after bouncing between a few iconic restaurants in Lisbon, he landed at Belcanto where he was first exposed to fine wine and dining - the rigor of 2 Michelin stars service, the intricacies of food and wine pairing and the pursuit of excellence on a day-to-day basis, made João fall in love with fine dining, and he never looked back.

In 2015, João met his now wife in Lisbon and after 14 months of long-distance, he decided to move to Chicago & not even the cold, long winters of the Windy City made him regret his move. After working, for 4 years, as a Wine Director at Next Restaurant, João opened Verve Chicago, where he became familiar with Grand Cru Selections. After years of talking, advertising, and selling GCS wines, joining the opening team of GCS IL seemed a natural next step. When he's not working, João can be found cooking Portuguese dishes for his wife and 2 sons, or on a Peloton bike (when there is time to spare).

About Nick

Nick's restaurant veteran parents introduced him to wine at an early age and there was no looking back. After graduating from Ohio State University with a degree in Hospitality Management, Nick assisted in rewriting and redesigning major areas of the Hospitality Management curriculum including a more robust wine and spirits class along with international business grants for study abroad. Soon after, he landed his first wine buying job at 22 in Columbus, Ohio. By 24, he moved to Chicago to join the lauded Purple Pig. He spent 10 years working both front and back of house, with positions including: Food and Beverage R&D, creating some of their famous dishes that are still on the menu; Beverage Director and Head Sommelier building an award winning list of 50 By the Glass and 900 bottles. In his spare time Nick loves to DJ hip hop and disco, cooking with his wife and of course rooting for his Buckeyes!