Meet our team
Amy Harnisch
Operations Manager | Head Sommelier
Amy’s passion for wine springs from her overall passion for life and celebrating each moment. Raised in Nebraska by a farming family, she has always had a deep connection with humanity’s relationship to nature and food. Her first real introduction to wine occurred as she spent two years in Europe earning her Masters Degree in Social Sciences. Upon returning to the U.S., her future in the wine business was cemented after meeting her husband, a chef and Sommelier, 15 years ago.
Since that time Amy has worked diligently to gather the knowledge required to seek out the most compelling wines available on the market. Her philosophy about wine is based on positive relationships- with the farmer and the land, the importer and the vintner, the sommelier and the guest. She strives to create a relaxed but exciting environment to build on these relationships, to honor their histories, and celebrate their futures.
Favorite Book: Skinny Legs & All by Tom Robbins
Favorite Wine Region: It changes daily! Today it iPiedmont, Italy. Favorite Bottle of Wine: One of the most memorable bottles was the 2005 Château de Beaucastel "Hommage à Jacques Perrin” she drank at McCrady’s in Charleston, South Carolina.
Rah Hines
Community Events Coordinator
Rah is an international advocate of self-care, food freedom, and environmental justice. Through her work and partnerships in these areas she seeks to empower individuals, uplift communities, and restore the Earth. Rah’s interest in organic and biodynamic wines stems from her interest in the effects of mass production on soil and ecosystems in general. Rah also strives to inspire and facilitate healthier, more eco-responsible
lifestyle choices that are practical and affordable for everyone.
Favorite Bottle of Wine To Date: Domaine Etienne & Sabastien Riffalult "Les Quarterons" Sancerre Blanc, France Favorite Book of 2018 (because there are too many books she loves to reference an all time fav): Brida by Paulo Coelho
Alyssa Cordero
Shoppe Keeper
Alyssa is a Dominican-Puerto Rican American originally from New York, but grew up in Tampa suburbia. Through both of her grandmothers she learned to adore plants and the natural environment that surrounds us. She is an art historian, independent curator, and a passionate natural wine novice.
Favorite Book: Currently, What We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons Favorite Wine Region: Currently, Sicily, Italy Most memorable bottle of wine: 2015, Franco Terpin Quinto Quarto, her first orange wine at June Wine Bar in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn
Micheal Hooker
Shoppe Founder | artist residency Director
Micheal is a Florida born writer, performance artist, and natural wine enthusiast.
She began studying wine in 2012 and fell in love with biodynamic viticulture and natural wine as a result of her deep passion for bees and ecofeminist philosophy. In 2016 she moved back to Tampa, Florida from Brooklyn, New York with the sole purpose of opening Lector Social Club, and adding another brick in the cultural bridge of the city's renaissance. To this end her role as a salonniere and founder of Lector's Artist Residency Program is to organize and co-host natural wine, literary, community arts, and philanthropic events.
Favorite Book: Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson Favorite Poem: “The Forgotten Dialogue of the Heart” by Jack Gilbert Favorite Wine Region: Currently a toss up between Jura, France and Catalonia, Spain
Two Important Bottles of Wine: "The bottle that got me hooked on wine in general was Pol Roger's Winston Churchill Cuvee. The lemony-biscuit notes are forever instilled in my olfactory senses." Drank at Bern's Steakhouse of Tampa with my then future wife. The bottle of wine that keeps me hooked on natural wine is Gut Oggau's 2015 Josephine. Drank at Blue Hill in NYC for my nine year anniversary with said wife.
Lector Social Club is located at 305 East Polk Street in Downtown Tampa, Florida (btwn Franklin St and Florida Ave).