Josh Nadel

Coming Up

Wine, for Josh Nadel, is an active part of service: it can change the pace of a room, stretch a conversation, and make a meal carry more weight. That frame runs through his work, where the glass is treated less as background and more as a tool for shaping atmosphere and social exchange. He studied at S.U.N.Y. Purchase, and he has described wine as a place where history, culture, taste, smell, travel, and art overlap; in practice, that means a style of work that is layered, curious, and attentive to how people gather around a table. Josh Nadel trained at S.U.N.Y. Purchase before entering the trade with a broad, measured sensibility. He worked as Head Sommelier at Veritas & Cru restaurants (2001–2008), a role that required fluency, precision, and composure in service. At Locanda Verde in The Greenwich Hotel, New York City (from 2009), he became Beverage Program Creator, building range into the list and moving between celebrated bottles and less obvious finds. He later served as Beverage Director at Café Carmellini in NoMad, NYC, placing the drinks program in direct conversation with the rest of the dining room. His responsibilities have since expanded across retail, hospitality, education, and industry work. Josh is co-founder of Gothic Wines (since 2008), Beverage Director of NoHo Hospitality Group, partner in wine of Thrive Market (since 2018), Guest Lecturer of Institute of Culinary Education, Board Member of Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas, and Chef Sommelier of Antonio Galloni & Vinous Media's Festa del Barolo. Taken together, those roles point to a career built around making selections, setting standards, and transmitting taste across different rooms and audiences.

Where They Are Now

As Beverage Director at NoHo Hospitality Group and partner in wine at Thrive Market, Josh Nadel works at the point where access and collecting meet. His classroom role as Guest Lecturer at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City extends that perspective into teaching, where the same priorities apply: clarity, range, and an understanding of what different wines can do for different drinkers. His own formulation makes the hierarchy plain: “It’s important to me to not only have those kinds of historical collectible references, but also wines that are accessible.” That balance also shows up in the way he speaks about regions. “Alsace wine has more diversity of flavors and deliciousness than any other single wine region in the world,” he says, a line that reflects a practical kind of enthusiasm—one grounded in variation, not hype.

In Their Words “It’s important to me to not only have those kinds of historical collectible references, but also wines that are accessible.” “Alsace wine has more diversity of flavors and deliciousness than any other single wine region in the world.”

Honors

Josh's honors include James Beard Award for Outstanding Wine Service (2004) and Wine Spectator Grand Award.