Harsha E. Chacko, Ph.D., C.S.W. – Wine Director

Harsha E. Chacko is a Professor Emeritus of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Administration at the University of New Orleans where he taught for 33 years.  He has a doctorate from the University of New Orleans (UNO) and Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Hotel, Restaurant and Travel Administration from the University of Massachusetts. This is where he first became interested in wine when he completed a college course on Beverage Management.

At the University of New Orleans, Harsha was the faculty advisor for Esprit de Corx (the student wine club) and developed a university level course titled Wines of the World.  He led student field study trips to Napa and Sonoma, CA for 10 years since 2006 and in 2009, Harsha successfully completed the requirements for the designation as a Certified Specialist of Wine from the Society of Wine Educators. For numerous years, Harsha taught the Wines of the World course in Montpellier, France for the UNO Glories of France summer program.  During these summers, he toured Alsace, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Loire Valley, Rhone, Beaujolais, Southwest France and Languedoc-Roussillon to acquire firsthand wine knowledge.  He has also explored the wine regions of Piedmont, Tuscany and Frascati in Italy, Setubal in Portugal, and Marlborough in New Zealand.

Harsha and his wife Elen live in New Orleans and founded the Lake Vista Wine Club, a wine tasting group that meets once a month. He is a contributing writer to The Vista magazine where he writes wine articles.