Andrew Green

The Path

Opening a wine program asks for order from the start: list structure, pacing, and the ability to make each selection feel deliberate. Andrew Green entered that work in 2001 as opening wine director at Village Pub in Woodside, California, where precision and restraint had to meet the practical demands of a new room. That early post established the terms of his practice: measured judgment, a clear palate, and a list built to read as complete rather than crowded. Today, Andrew is wine director of Spruce and the Village Pub and wine and spirits director of Bacchus Management. Across those roles, the work is less about isolated bottles than about maintaining a consistent point of view from room to room. It requires balancing the immediate needs of service with the longer discipline of keeping a program coherent over time.

The Work Today

Mentorship is part of the job, and Andrew Green has framed it plainly: "It’s my job to mentor all of them." In practice, that means setting standards, reinforcing habits, and helping a team move with confidence around wine and service. In a restaurant, that kind of instruction shapes the room as much as any decision on the list. A wine program also has to belong to the restaurant from the outset, and Andrew Green has made that point directly: "It’s [going to be] part of the identity of the restaurant from day one." The logic is practical. Wine is not an added layer; it is one of the systems that defines how a place reads, from opening service onward.

In Their Words “Really well-selected, entry-level wines from top producers is something that we're not gonna overlook.” The standard here is accessibility without slack. The focus stays on wines that can welcome a guest in cleanly while still meeting the level expected of the program. “It’s [going to be] part of the identity of the restaurant from day one.” The point is structural: the list helps define the room as soon as it opens. Wine is treated as part of the house’s working identity, not decoration added after the fact.

Acclaim

Andrew's honors include Wine Spectator Grand Award (2013).