By Dan Murphy
While he might have come to his current role as wine cellar manager for the Newbury Street location of DeLuca’s Market in a somewhat roundabout manner, Magnus Cleveland was an immediate natural on the job.
Raised outside Buffalo in Lockport, N.Y., Cleveland began stocking shelves at a nearby ‘big-box liquor store, Premium Wine and Spirits, as soon as he met the age requirement of 18. (His father worked for many years as the store’s general manger and just retired this past Dec. 31.)
Cleveland continued to work at Premium during the summers while attending Middlebury College in Vermont. He would graduate in 2020, earning a bachelor’s degree in Classics and Classic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics.
After college, Cleveland worked as a historic preservation intern at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky, before he returned again to Premium in early ’22, this time to assume the role of full-time wine associate.
Cleveland attributes much his love of wine to what he learned in this role, but the seeds were first planted for him a few years earlier when he visited Italy and learned first-hand how integral wine is that country and its culture.
In August of 2023, Cleveland relocated to the Boston area to work on the preservation staff for Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge. He also soon applied for a position at DeLuca’s, which he learned was co-owned by another Middlebury alum, Victoria Aiello.
Cleveland came on board at DeLuca’s on Newbury Street in a part-time capacity in March of 2024, and as more of his ideas were implanted and his responsibilities there grew, so did his role within the business.
Today, Cleveland serves not only as the wine cellar manager for the Newbury Street store, but he also now runs the beer program at both that location and at DeLuca’s other store on Charles Street.
As he seeks out new wine and craft beer to stock the shelves, Cleveland said he looks for products that best align with DeLuca’s values, not only as a small, family business but also a business owned by women.
Furthermore, Cleveland said he hopes DeLuca’s will become more of a destination for wine lovers, as well as a “neighborhood resource,” where patrons can request a special product be put on order, or just ask a general question regarding wine.
“The world of wine can be a little difficult to navigate, and we want to be here to make that journey a little easier for them,” said Cleveland.
DeLuca’s Market is located at 239 Newbury St. in the Back Bay, as well as at 11 Charles St. on Beacon Hill. Visit delucasmarket.com for more information.