Husband and wife team Nathan and Lesley McHardy “cut their teeth” on wine and spirits in the restaurant business.  Nathan was General Manager and Sommelier at Shapley’s Restaurant in Ridgeland for 9 years, while Lesley was Restaurant and Bar Manager and Sommelier at BRAVO! Italian Restaurant since its opening in 1994.  Both are guild-certified sommeliers since 1999 and Lesley was one of the two first women in Mississippi to receive this certification.

After long shifts at their respective restaurant jobs, Nathan and Lesley would often sit poolside, sipping their favorite wines and dreaming of one day owning their own business.  On October 2, 2006 that dream became reality when they purchased Mississippi’s leading volume wine and spirits store, Briarwood Wine and Spirits.