Madeline Maldonado, known as Maddy, was born and raised in Hoboken, NJ. Guided by her parents’

passion for entertaining and hospitality, she caught the wine bug while catering for a private wine

collector who exposed Maddy to the nuances of tasting wine. This led to a passion for reading, tasting,

and researching wine.

The breakthrough came after earning her sommelier certification at The Wine & Spirit Education Trust,

springboarding her first wine job at Tinto Fino with a specialty in wines from Spain. This was followed by

valuable turns as the Wine Director at Lela Wine bar and a loop around to retail at Vestry Wines, where

Maddy also became the assistant wine buyer at this high-end boutique outlet. Here is where she began

building a strong customer base by hosting tastings and private events at the store’s tasting table. Add

Bin 14 to the journey after Vestry closed from Hurricane Sandy, where great relationships were forged on

both sides of the bar. Think Cheers meets wine bar!

Maddy decided it was time to get back to restaurants, where in 2015 she was hired as manager and

sommelier for Chef Jonathan Waxman’s reboot of Jams Restaurant. From there, Eataly Downtown called

where she served as Beverage Director for a 400+ bottle wine list, then off to DaToscano, where she

brought her evolution within beverage, wine, and hospitality to Chef Michael Toscano’s Italian eatery.

Along the way, she earned a feature in the New York Times and Esquire Magazine’s 2020 Beverage

Director of the Year. Maddy was reunited with her first love of Spanish wine at Chef Jose Andres’

“love letter to Spain” as Mercado Little Spain’s Beverage Director from 2022-2024.

She is currently at Union Square Hospitality Group’s Ci Siamo restaurant as a sommelier, where she

continues to do what she enjoys best: bringing together people, wine, and food while telling the stories

behind them! 🍷