About
A.J. Ojeda-Pons is a multi-award-winning Beverage Executive with over 20 years of experience managing complex, high-volume wine programs and national-scale inventories for some of the world’s most prestigious culinary groups.
As a prominent sommelier, educator, and consultant, working in hospitality, he has designed, created, curated, and developed many successful wine programs.
He advanced his career in some of the best restaurants in New York City, including Tribeca Grill, Gotham Bar & Grill, Morrell’s, BLT Fish, BLT Prime, Riingo, Perry St, Zoë Townhouse, Public & The Monday Room, The Lambs Club -whose wine list earned the Best Award of Excellence from the Wine Spectator for seven years in a row, and one of the ‘Best By-the-Glass Wine List with Coravin in North America,’ and the sprawling Mercado Little Spain from Chef Jose Andres, where he oversaw the largest collection of Spanish wines in the city.
During the challenging times of the Covid-19 pandemic, he helped open and develop Temperance Wine Bar in the West Village, creating a unique wine program of one hundred wines by the glass, featuring off-the beaten path grape varieties, whose list achieved the ‘2021 Global Winner for Best New Wine List in the World’ by the World of Fine Wines as well as the ‘Regional Award for North America.’
His passionate enthusiasm for his craft is contagious to diners, fellow colleagues, and wine enthusiasts alike. A.J. brings a wealth of knowledge, and style, to all he serves, namely the ‘Best Dressed Somm’ in North America Award by GQ Magazine and Penfold’s Wines.
In May 2024, he started TERRA, in Jeffersonville, NY, a space dedicated to wine tasting education where he hosts weekly sessions and teaches classes at all level of wine knowledge.
He continues educating himself and seeking out unique selections, traveling to wine regions and meeting with winemakers and peers alike, and participating in many industry seminars and events.
He currently holds the Diploma of Wine certification with the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (DipWSET), which he completed in January of 2022 at the International Wine Center in New York City, the Certified Spanish Wine Specialist, completed in March 2021with the ICEX Spain Trade & Investment Gastronomy Department, the Certified Sherry Wine Specialist, completed in July 2024 with the House of Lustau and the DO Jerez, the Abruzzo Ambassador title, completed in December 2024 from the Abruzzo Wine Academy in Italy, and the Champagne Specialist certificate, completed in April 2025 with the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne.
