KEVIN ZRALY

Author and educator James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award recipient

Internationally acclaimed wine educator, best-selling author, and James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Kevin Zraly has been described as a naturally gifted speaker who is both refreshingly humble and candid. His passion for wine and food and his engaging teaching style help demystify the everchanging world of wine. Kevin offers wine classes, wine-paired dinners, and wine tastings, and speaks on wine, food, and restaurants.

After graduating college and studying wine by visiting vineyards and winemakers around the world, Kevin had a chance meeting with legendary restaurateur Joe Baum which led to his being hired as the first Cellar Master and Wine Director of the renowned Windows on the World Restaurant atop One World Trade Center. Windows soon became the country’s top grossing restaurant and, with Kevin at the helm of its highly recognized wine list, sold more wine than any restaurant in the world. It was there that he established his Windows on the World Wine School which lasted 40 years and graduated more than 20,000 students ranging from wine novices and aficionados to top chefs and culinary professionals. Kevin worked at the Windows on the World Restaurant for 25 years, from the day it opened in 1976 until September 11, 2001.

He has been featured in such publications as The New York Times, People magazine, The Wall Street Journal, GQ magazine, Newsweek, and USA Today and has been featured on national TV and syndicated television and radio shows. He has served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Culinary Institute of America since 1990.

Kevin is the author of eight books, including the best-selling Windows on the World Complete Wine Course, now in its thirty-fifth edition with more than four million copies sold. He is also the author of the first book that covers wineries and vineyards in all 50 states, Kevin Zraly’s American Wine Guide, The Ultimate Wine Companion, a compilation of 40 world renowned wine writers, and Red Wine, which received international acclaim as the
"Gourmand 2017 Best Wine Book of the Year." His memoir, A Glass Half Full: A Cellarmaster’s Journey Through Wine and Life, will be released in 2023.