Chef Jonathan Waxman Is Opening This Birth-Year Bordeaux at His Daughter’s Wedding

By WineBottleMag
December 12, 2025
BirthYear Bordeaux Chef Daughters Jonathan Opening Waxman Wedding
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Jonathan Waxman has been a fixture in the New York City restaurant scene for decades, so it’s easy to forget he’s a native Californian. The award-winning chef grew up in the Berkeley area, not far from Napa Valley, and he’s been passionate about wine, grapes, and terroir since as long as he can remember.

“I took enology at U.C. Berkeley, and my first introduction to wines was from sommelier friends when I was pretty young,” Waxman says of his education. “Then I got to work at Domaine Chandon, which helped solidify my winemaking knowledge. And then I went to work for Alice Waters at Chez Panisse, which had an amazing wine cellar. Everyone was in tune to wines and the wine industry.”

Waxman adds that he played Little League in Calistoga, one of the great American wine towns. “So I feel very connected to wines and the wine business, especially in California and France.”

After graduating from culinary school in Paris and working in the Golden State’s most notable kitchens (Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Michael’s in Santa Monica), Waxman brought his produce-driven style of California cooking to the Big Apple in the eighties. (If you’ve ever had a perfectly roasted chicken or an impeccably dressed kale salad, he is partly to thank.)

Waxman loves to travel and, despite his NorCal lineage, claims to be open to trying wines from any region on the planet. (“It’s funny, when I started out, it was all about California Cabs, California Chardonnays, and Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Champagne,” he says.)

This year, the chef turns 75, on the same day that his oldest child and only daughter is getting married. While the father of the bride is an admitted wine geek, Waxman is letting his daughter Hannah and her fiancé choose their wedding wine, albeit with some assistance from his wine director, also named Jonathan Waxman, funnily enough. “I just thought it was cool that I didn’t have to do anything but write a check!” the chef says with a laugh.

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Waxman shows no real sign of slowing down. The father, husband, full-time restaurateur, andTop Chef Masters competitor still lights up with excitement when talking about the latest wine he tasted. Recently, he’s been gravitating towards wines from Provence, and was just blown away by bottles from Mexico’s Valle de Guadalupe. “It’s been a great ride for me,” he says. “I’m pretty lucky to have been able to try all these wines.”

Photo by Peter Garritano

Owner: Jonathan Waxman, chef/restaurateur (Barbuto, JAMS), wine bar operator (Bar Tizio)

Prized Bottle: 1950 Château de Sales Bordeaux from Pomerol, France

How’d I Get It? “It’s a cute story: Back in the day, when I first opened JAMS in New York [which operated from 1984 to 1989], as a transplanted Californian for some reason I was always homesick on my birthday. My business partner, Melvyn, and I would always go out to Lutèce for our birthdays, which I liked because they always had bottles of wine from my birth year: 1950.

Now, 1950 wasn’t a great year for wine. It wasn’t terrible; I’d say it is a medium or lackluster year. But there are some good 1950 Bordeauxs, and some of them are astronomical. Recently, I found a bottle of 1950 Château de Sales; I bought it from a broker in Washington, D.C. I like buying at auctions—it’s my favorite way to buy wine, because you’re typically buying from a nice cellar.

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Over the years, I’ve gone tasting all of France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece. I love wines from Switzerland and Austria. On the wine list at Bar Tizio, we try to pay homage to wines from around the world. I like wines from Walla Walla, Washington, and wines from Willamette Valley in Oregon. I’m a big fan of wines from Monterey and Santa Barbara in California—but I’m agnostic in terms of my regional preferences! You can find hidden gems everywhere.”

Chef Jonathan Waxman at Bar Tizio in New York City, 11/25/25 — Photo by Peter Garritano

Purchase Price: $400

Estimated Value: Around $400, according to Wine-Searcher

When Do You Plan to Drink It: “My daughter is getting married on my birthday, and I told her I don’t want a celebration for my birthday. But I will have a private celebration with my dearest friends. Later that night, when my daughter and her friends are dancing, my friends and I will drink the bottle of wine. Two of my dearest friends will be at the wedding so we’re going to split the bottle … and maybe my wife too.

I think the wedding is going to be fun, and I’ll probably have a post-wedding birthday celebration too—but that night? I’ll be drinking the 1950 de Sales. You know, it’s tough with old wines. If the wine is 75-years-old, who the f*ck knows if it’s good or not? You don’t! But I’m sure it’ll be fine. And I’ll have a back-up wine to drink, just in case.”