Chris Hoel
Founder
From establishing the St. Louis Wine Clinic in 2004 to his years as a sommelier at The French Laundry, Chris Hoel has built a legacy of trust and experience in servicing his premium clientele. Bringing a discerning taste from 20+ years in the wine industry, Chris founded bespoke wine advisory firm Harper's Club in 2016 and has developed some of the world’s most incredible wine collections along the way. Chris has partnered with The Ojai Valley Inn, Disneyland Resorts, Soho House, and Outreach Through the Arts to help curate unique wine experiences for guests and private clients alike. Most recently he founded Luckysomm- an online wine retail site that consists of quality, unique wines at an amazing value. In addition, he sits on the board of advisors for SommCon and is resident Sommelier for the Martha Stewart Wine Co.
Chris is currently based in Los Angeles and the Napa Valley with his wife Miranda and their children, Ronan and Veda.
Christina Pate
Executive Director
Christina makes sure that everything is running smoothly, and also finds the wines that our clients are looking for. She works with our close and trusted partners in the wine trade both in the US and in Europe, and directly with selected producers in California. Relationships are just as important in sourcing as they are in building wine collections for our clients. With 20+ years of experience in fine and rare wine, she has built a track record of professionalism and integrity and built relationships with partners who do business the same way. Christina also oversees the safe transit of our stock to our warehouse, ensuring that transport is under controlled conditions at all times. A transplant from her New Zealand home, she loves all wine that is made honestly and tells the story of its place and time.
Natosha Attaway
Director of Finance
Born and raised in East Texas, Natosha is a genuine Texas country girl, currently residing east of downtown Dallas in Rockwall.
Natosha brings over 20 years of accounting experience working in various industries, including public and private sector companies. She holds an MBA from Texas A&M Commerce and is skilled in team building, strategic planning, and company collaboration.
As a highly motivated individual who always looks for new challenges and ways to improve her skills and knowledge, she is currently pursuing her Doctorate in Business.
In her role as the Director of Finance for Harpers Club, Natosha ensures the accuracy of financial transactions and manages all aspects of accounting for the company, including budgeting, taxes, payroll, and preparation of financial statements
In her free time, she enjoys crafting, reading, traveling, and watching Marvel movies with her husband. Natosha lives by The Golden Rule, "Treat others as you would like to be treated."
Kate Green
Director of Business Development
A seventeen-year veteran of the restaurant & hospitality business, Kate Green cut her teeth under Chef Nancy Silverton, where she worked her way up from answering phones to Director of Communications for the Mozza Restaurant Group. A fixture in the food and wine scene around Los Angeles, Kate has a passion for bringing together chefs and winemakers at unique pop-ups to showcase their talents. She currently co-hosts the talk show and podcast Tastemade Presents: Table Setting, which allows her to talk with the most innovative thinkers in the food and beverage world about current trends.
You can usually find her with a glass of Champagne in her hand and a Los Angeles Dodgers ball-cap on her head.
Roland Hankseron
Senior Wine Advisor
Roland calls Rocky Mount, NC, home. He started his world travels early as a 19 year-old student living on a ship, traveling on scholarship throughout Latin America, Africa, Asia as well as the Caribbean through Semester at Sea and the Institute for Shipboard Education.
After graduating from Morehouse College with a B.A. in International Studies, working in Eastern Europe and teaching in Bethesda, MD, Roland transitioned to wine full-time and moved to California. He gathered a wide berth of knowledge and experience throughout multiple genres of wine, with frequent visits to Bordeaux, Burgundy, Spain, Italy, Greece, as well as exploring California Wine Country.
"I've spent time managing retail, in tasting rooms, in vineyards, being a distributor, and a salesman. It always comes back to people and hearing their thoughts on what they love in wine, and the experiences that have inspired that love. Then I get to expose them to new experiences and potential loves."
Proud father of Joshua (now a teenager), his other passions are music, poker with friends, movies, cooking, martial arts, and, well, you guessed it, travel!
Michael Smith
Senior Wine Advisor
Michael Smith is a Certified Sommelier and is currently studying for the Advanced Sommelier exam. Originally from the Central Coast of California and started his wine career at the young age of eighteen, working a harvest in Paso Robles Ca. After putting a few other harvests under his belt, Michael shifted gears and started his Sommelier path at a wine shop and bar in Templeton Ca.
Shortly after, found himself in Los Angeles working the floor at various restaurants, with the most recent being one Michelin starred Osteria Mozza. Like many others during the pandemic, he pivoted to helping Saxum Vineyards with another harvest.
Before joining the Harper's Club team, he most recently relocated to San Francisco, where he went on to work at both three Michelin starred Atelier Crenn and Quince.
Dave Antuzzi
Operations and Logistics Manager
Born in San Jose, California, Dave Antuzzi’s formative years were filled with skateboarding, guitar and a strong bent towards education. His college courses started at 15 and he earned acceptance to several Universities, but ultimately decided to start out with community college.
After taking one music theory class, he was instantly hooked, avidly taking on roles in any musical capacity he could. Big band, North Indian classical singing, choir, composition, piano, conducting, but his main instrument was the classical guitar. After winning scholarships and tri-county competitions in the Yuba-Sutter area, he was able to perform various concerti with local orchestras. Dave also worked summers at this time for school districts teaching music and coordinating events for children. He then pursued his Masters degree in education and a teaching credential to become a math teacher. A friend of his from college was with working with the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group and landed him a job at Ad Hoc in Yountville. In the Winter of 2021, Dave joined Harper’s Club as our Warehouse and Operations Manager.
Warehouse Associate
After starting his working life in early childhood education, Travis ventured into restaurants and hospitality in 2014. He quickly moved up the ranks and by 2018, he was an experienced server/bartender overseeing many large events such as weddings and large golf tournaments. Travis carefully and attentively handles all wines in our warehouse as well as all shipments, ensuring that every bottle is shipped safely to the client. His care in treating wine bottles with respect is one of the most important tenets of Harper’s Club. As our newest team member, Travis is eager to grow with us and will be another representative of reliability and professionalism within this company.
