Cava Meeting Premiere NYC 2025
Presenters
A.J. Ojeda-Pons
A.J. Ojeda-Pons is a prominent sommelier, educator, and consultant with over 20 years of hospitality experience. He has led programs at Tribeca Grill, The Lambs Club—whose list earned Wine Spectator’s Best Award of Excellence—and José Andrés’ Mercado Little Spain. During the pandemic, he launched Temperance Wine Bar, building a 100-wine by-the-glass program recognized as 2021 Global Winner for Best New Wine List in the World by World of Fine Wine. In 2024, he founded TERRA in Jeffersonville, NY, a wine education space. He holds the WSET Diploma and specialist certifications in Spanish, Sherry, Abruzzo, and Champagne wines.
Doreen Colondres
Doreen Colandres is an accomplished cookbook author with a best-selling title under Penguin Random House and over 15 years of experience in food and wine. As the founder of Vitis House and a certified WSET Educator, she’s shared her passion in 40+ countries. Specializing in healthy cuisine with Mediterranean and Hispanic roots, she engages global audiences through education, media, and culinary storytelling.
Elaine Chukan Brown
Elaine Chukan Brown is an award-winning writer, speaker, and global wine educator, as well as a consultant on mentorship and diversity programs worldwide. Indigenous (Inupiaq and Unangan-Sugpiaq) from what is now Alaska, Brown specializes in American wine and reviews Napa Valley wine and wines of northeastern Spain for Wine Enthusiast. Previously, they served as the Executive Editor US for JancisRobinson.com and their work has appeared in Decanter and Wine & Spirits Magazine. They contributed to both the fourth and fifth editions of The Oxford Companion to Wine, the eighth and upcoming ninth edition of the World Atlas of Wine, and the compilations On Burgundy and On California from Académie du Vin Library.
Mary Gorman-McAdams MW
Mary Gorman-McAdams is a Master of Wine, wine educator, speaker and wine marketing consultant. Mary has taught WSET classes for over twenty years and creates bespoke wine education programs for both the trade and wine consumers. Mary is a regular speaker at wine conferences and a wine judge. Consulting clients include regional wine bodies, individual wine producers and channel partners. Mary is serving her second term as an elected Council member for the Institute of Masters of Wine, is Chair of the Membership Committee and served for 10 years on its Educational Committee. Prior to her career in wine Mary spent 15 years in international business management in the tech industry across a range of business types from startups to multinationals and semi-state bodies.
Yannick Benjamin
Yannick Benjamin is a New York–based sommelier, entrepreneur, and advocate named Sommelier of the Year by the Michelin Guide and honored with the Wine Enthusiast Wine Star Award. He is co-founder of Beaupierre Wines & Spirits in Hell’s Kitchen, a family-run shop rooted in inclusivity and sustainability. After a 2003 accident left him paralyzed, Yannick continued his hospitality career at top restaurants and co-founded Wine on Wheels, supporting disability-related causes. He also helped establish Contento in East Harlem, celebrated for its ethos of accessibility. Today, he inspires as a leader, educator, and champion of community through wine.