Alisha Blackwell-Calvert

The Path

Across Reeds American Table, Elaia, Olio, and Cinder House in Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis, Blackwell-Calvert built range through repetition and refinement. Each room added another layer to the same craft problem: how to read flavor, structure, and service in real time, then turn that into a list guests can use. The progression matters here less as biography than as training in how wine programs are shaped, one room and one decision at a time. Since 2023, she has served as Beverage Director and Wine Director of Madrina. In that role, the work sits between utility and expression: the list has to move cleanly for guests while still showing the scope of what wine can hold. The priority is clarity, and the discipline is making breadth feel usable.

The Work Today

At Madrina, Blackwell-Calvert builds an accessible, user-friendly wine list that pairs domestic wines with Italian counterparts so guests have a frame of reference while still covering many regions and keeping prices accessible. The structure gives the list an internal logic: familiar alongside unfamiliar, comparison without friction, and enough range to let a guest navigate with confidence. It is a practical way to widen the map without asking for prior knowledge. “I wanted to make sure I could reach as many regions as possible.” That line explains the program’s balance of scope and accessibility. The list is designed to cover ground, but not at the expense of ease. For the trade, that means a wine list that can stretch across regions while still working cleanly in service. She also keeps a personal through-line in the program: “I negotiated to have a little section of things I carry everywhere I go.” In a trade context, that detail signals more than preference; it shows how a list can hold both operational range and an individual point of view. At Madrina, the broader selections do the heavy lifting, while that smaller section keeps the program tied to the hand behind it.

In Their Words “I wanted to make sure I could reach as many regions as possible.”