Jade Ayala, Beverage Director at The Port of Call and Oyster Club in Mystic, Connecticut, has been named Drinks Professional of the Year at VinePair's 2026 Next Wave Awards — a distinction that recognizes her outsized influence on contemporary bar culture well beyond a single restaurant floor.
A Standout Year
The VinePair honor caps a remarkable run for both Ayala and The Port of Call. The venue was also named a 2026 James Beard Award finalist for Outstanding Wine & Other Beverages, and the bar previously earned a place on Esquire's Best Bars in America list following its 2022 opening. Both restaurants operate under the 85th Day Food Community, founded by Dan Meiser. "Jade has an extraordinary palate and is always asking what else an ingredient can do, or how an idea can become something worth sharing with our guests," Meiser said. "She makes the team around her better, and we're thrilled to see her talent recognized."
The Beverage Program's Edge
Ayala's approach is rooted in close collaboration with the culinary team, drawing on local farms and seasonal ingredients to build cocktails with the same attention to flavor, texture, and balance applied to composed dishes. That culinary sensibility — treating the bar as an extension of the kitchen rather than a separate operation — reflects a broader shift in beverage program development that high-end independent restaurants have been pursuing aggressively in recent years. "I love the moment when someone tries a drink and discovers a flavor they weren't expecting, or experiences a familiar ingredient in a completely different way," Ayala said. "That curiosity drives so much of what we do."
Mystic's Rising Profile
Ayala's recognition also spotlights the growing reputation of Mystic, Connecticut as a serious food-and-drink destination. Travel + Leisure named Mystic the Best Small Food Town in America in 2026, a designation that aligns with the kind of independent, chef- and beverage-director-driven hospitality that operators across the country are studying for lessons in restaurant beverage strategy. The VinePair Next Wave Awards are selected by the VinePair editorial team with input from contributors and its industry network, honoring innovators shaping the future of the drinks industry across creativity, community, and hospitality. The full 2026 winners list is available at VinePair's website.
For industry professionals tracking where the next generation of beverage talent is coming from, Ayala's trajectory — building a nationally recognized program at an independent restaurant in a small Connecticut coastal town — offers a compelling counterpoint to the assumption that marquee bar culture lives exclusively in major metros. Her work is also a reminder, as noted in Food & Beverage Magazine's ongoing coverage of craft beverage trends, that ingredient-forward, chef-collaborative bar programs continue to earn top-tier critical recognition.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
