Between 1976 and 2001, Zraly held the position of wine director for the Windows on the World restaurant, on the top floors of New York's 1 WTC World Trade Center, America's top-grossing restaurant. Zraly was hired by Joe Baum whilst a 25-year-old wine salesman and self-educated oenophile with a bachelor's degree in education from State University of New York at New Paltz, and is since credited with introducing California wine to the American public, as well as helping to pioneer the use of progressive markup on wine in US restaurants. After the collapse of the World Trade Center in the September 11 attacks, the school relocated to the New York Marriott Marquis.
