Chase Sinzer

The Climb

Training at Bard College gave Chase Sinzer a starting point outside the restaurant floor, but the work that followed was built in dining rooms where pace, sequencing, and guest reading matter as much as the wine itself. At Maialino in New York, he worked as dining room manager; at Narcissa, he moved into the role of head sommelier; and from 2014, he served as wine director at Momofuku Ko in New York. Each role placed him closer to the point where wine stops being a separate program and becomes part of service logic: ordered, timed, and usable at the table. That progression continued at Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare in New York, where he was wine director and the list had to support a room known for exacting standards. The work there would have demanded precision without fuss: selections that hold up under scrutiny, pacing that matches the meal, and a hand that keeps the wine present without overpowering the service. He is now co-owner of Penny and Claud, which moves him from list-making into broader responsibility for how wine fits into the room as a whole.

Today

He is wine director at Penny. The position matches a stated aim that runs through his work: making wine feel accessible without flattening it. In his own words, "Creating something where wine was central to the experience felt like the right next step." The line explains the shift cleanly. For Chase Sinzer, the work is not about placing wine at a distance; it is about setting it at the center and making that center easy to enter.

Signature

The choice fits a program built around clarity: a bottle that can be read quickly, poured confidently, and still offer enough detail to reward a closer look. It reflects an approach that favors recognition without defaulting to shorthand, and accessibility without reducing the wine to easy talking points.

In Their Words “Burgundy is a catchword, so I think people are veering towards those wines because they know the name.” The line is practical rather than romantic. It points to how names shape buying behavior and how familiarity can open the door to categories that might otherwise feel closed off. “Creating something where wine was central to the experience felt like the right next step.” Taken alongside his career, the statement describes a throughline: moving from service roles into positions where wine could be placed more deliberately within the dining experience, rather than appended to it.

Recognition

Chase's honors include The MICHELIN Guide New York 2024 Sommelier Award Winner (2024).