‘He Became a Mentor for Pretty Much Everybody.’ Remembering Justin Chearno, Natural Wine Advocate and Four Horsemen Co-Founder

As news spreads of the loss of Justin Chearno, founding partner and wine director of Brooklyn’s acclaimed wine bar The Four Horsemen, and a pioneer in bringing natural wine into the American mainstream, friends and industry professionals are grieving together.

“It is with deep sadness that the Four Horsemen announces the passing of our friend and founding partner Justin Chearno,” reads an Instagram post from the Four Horsemen published on August 23rd. “It is a loss for the entire food and wine community, here and abroad, as Justin helped to champion, teach, and connect so many people —from winemakers to chefs to so many more.”

“I thought taking the day to process my thoughts would give me some clarity, but I’m still at a loss for words,” writes Four Horsemen chef Nick Curtola. “He was a force in the global restaurant scene and an absolute pioneer in NYC and we were lucky to have him with us at The Four Horsemen, where the team and the community became his second family.”

Before opening the Four Horsemen, Chearno worked in the wine industry both as a buyer and importer. Those who worked with him in the early stages of his career say that the opportunity to do so changed them profoundly. 

“In many ways, I’ve always thought of Justin as the great connector,” writes Zev Rovine, a natural wine importer in Brooklyn. “The person who could see things in context and understand taste and place.”

In 2002, Chearno began working at Uva, a pioneering natural wine store in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood, while also founding and playing guitar for a number of influential bands in New York’s indie rock scene, including Turing Machine and Panthers.

“I was very lucky to be able to work with him at Uva and the retail world and watch his rise in the community,” says Steven Graf, owner of Steven Graf Imports. “He became a mentor for pretty much everybody in the natural wine scene in New York. I don’t know anyone [here] who hasn’t been touched by him in one way or another. My generation’s palate is his palate — everything I’ve done in my career is to impress Justin Chearno, basically. He had this wonderful magnanimous energy, and if you could delight him, you were doing something right.”

Eventually Chearno branched out from retail and into the wine importer world after Rovine hired him for a position with Zev Rovine Selections. From there, Chearno became a fixture in the natural and artisan wine community around the city, and beyond.

“Justin was one the most talented wine buyers I ever had the pleasure of knowing. We met for the first time in 2009 at Uva Wine Shop. He taught me many insights about wine over the years until our last meeting just two weeks ago at The Four Horsemen,” says Phil Sareil, a member of the sales staff at natural wine importer Jenny & Francois. “Over the years, whenever there was a new wine we were introducing, it was Justin’s opinion I wanted to seek out the most. His approval met so much. Beyond wine, he was one the kindest, most genuine and compassionate people I’ve ever met. He touched so many people and had such an easy way about him.” 

Most recently, the Four Horsemen team was preparing for the release of their first cookbook, The Four Horsemen: Food and Wine for Good Times from the Brooklyn Restaurant, set to publish on October 22nd from Abrams Books. 

“Even though Justin was a major force in the natural wine world, he was also simply a guy who truly loved wine — you could sense that in his passion for what he did, his cheerfulness, his adventurousness, and his wit,” says Ray Isle, executive wine editor at Food & Wine. “I remember interviewing him in 2020 for a story right before the pandemic started. I loved what he said about Four Horseman, partly because it’s what I always felt, going there. Sure, the focus was on natural wine, but even more, it was just on great wine. ‘We’re not dogmatic,’ he told me. ‘We’re a taste-great-first place.’ 

“Justin also had that gift that all great sommeliers have, a kind of preternatural knack for pouring you something you’d never heard of, or never knew you wanted, or never even knew existed, and sure enough, every time, you’d love it,” adds Isle “His leaving us so soon is just a tremendous loss to the wine world.”

Chearno’s connection to Brooklyn’s music scene helped to create the inclusive wine community for which he is so remembered. His ability to bridge both the people and cultural scenes he immersed himself in were rooted in the accessibility with which he was able to communicate his passion for natural wine.

“I liked to call Justin the ‘natural wine whisperer’ because he had an innate ability, regardless of a language barrier, to commune with any winemaker or wine director and make them feel seen and understood in their craft,”  says Jay Strell, a hospitality publicist based in New York City and longtime friend of Chearno. “This also extended beyond the industry and benefited the wine drinking public, novice or seasoned, because he knew how to talk about a particular wine and why someone should drink it without ever talking down to anyone. I think it went back to his days of playing music and touring, and he harnessed that same creativity and egalitarian spirit to connect with vignerons, chefs, and restaurateurs. He was endlessly, obsessively curious, always willing to learn and share. He gave willingly of his time to people getting a start in the industry, whether they were burgeoning winemakers or importers.”

Though popularly associated with the natural wine scene, Chearno’s tastes went beyond a single category. Those who knew him remember him as a proponent of a wide range of producers and styles, advocating for anything and everything he felt passionate about.

“It became pretty clear after a year or two [of operating the Four Horsemen] that Justin was brilliant and omnivorous and ecumenical as a wine person,” says Jon Bonné, author of The New French Wine. “And yes, he loved natural wine and traveled in those circles, but he simply didn't live within those boundaries and cliques that have come to define so much of the wine culture in New York today. He could speak natty, and speak classic, and code-switch between the two at will.”

However, beyond his extensive influence on the wine world, those close to Chearno remember a kind, caring person who deeply impacted family, friends, and all those around him.

“I think you will get many wine-sided anecdotes, but one thing that has stood out to me about him in the last 11 years is the full embrace of being a deep caring father, husband and rock for his family,” says Jorge Riera, wine director at New York City’s Frenchette, Le Rock, and Le Veau D’Or. “He was able to provide something that he really did not have and went above and beyond with such excitement and perpetual love for Stacey and Felix… To me, that is what stood out, which he always spoke to me about while we drank wine together, the responsibilities he had ahead for them both and the care that went behind it all so thoroughly.”