Maria Camelo

Hi! Tell us about you!

I am a wife, mom, girl scout troop leader, business partner. I started my career as a laboratory scientist working in the bio medical field,

transitioned to software instruction teaching engineering-based database management software, and currently am a cofounder of Señor Sangria Inc.

I have lived in SOMA for 25 years. I found Maplewood while attending Rutgers University. After university I moved away for some time but knew I would return to Maplewood.

Tell us about your business.

Señor Sangria makes premium all natural ready to drink sangria. This is not your typical pre-made sangria. We source the highest quality fruit juices available and use premium wines. Wines that you would drink on their own like the Sauvignon Blanc from Maule Valley Chile (in our Classic White Sangria) and French Colombard. We’re not messing around here we’ve got the good stuff! We develop the recipes, market and sell them so technically that makes us a wine wholesaler. We work with distributors that sell and deliver our wines to grocery and liquor stores. We currently distribute in 12 states.

Where did you grow up?

I was born in South Africa, we moved to the US when I was 10 years old.

What inspired you to start your own business?

Getting into the wine business was accidental. While living in Hoboken, my then boyfriend, (now hubby of 16 years) would make sangria for dinner parties with friends. While walking home one late night after indulging in a healthy amount of sangria, because let’s be honest no great story has ever started with “when I was eating a salad”, I told Rick he should bottle the sangria he makes for parties. We did some research, aka we tasted every bottled sangria we could find, sounds like fun, but not really because we realized that most bottled sangria is made with cheap wine, artificial flavors and colors. Which was the complete opposite of what we wanted. We wanted great, authentic sangria with real juices and premium wine and there wasn’t any out there. So we made it, and we bottled it! And here we are 20 years later!

How did you find yourself doing this work?

Our goal since starting our company has always been more than just making sangria. It’s about creating occasions that bring people together. We want to be a part of those memories of friends and family sitting around a table enjoying each other’s company, eating great food and of course drinking fantastic sangria!

What are 5 words that describe what you do?

Create occasions to remember.

What's the weirdest thing on your desk right now?

An inflatable 6ft wearable costume mockup of our sangria spritz can. They'll be making some appearances around SOMA soon!

Who's your all time hero?

Jane Goodall - the English primatologist / anthropologist.

What's your go-to celebration meal when you hit a milestone?

Anything and everything at Perla!

Favorite songs to listen to when working?

Sunroof by Nicky You’re dazy - always puts me in a good mood and reminds me of driving with the kids in the car, windows down, and we're all singing this song at the top of our lungs!

Best biz book/podcast you’d recommend

The CEO School Podcast https://theceoschool.com Suneera Madhani founded and scaled her first business to a billion dollar exit and is currently working on her second business. Her podcast focuses on female founders.

A quote you live by

Gratitude isn’t pretending everything is perfect. It’s choosing to recognize what’s already good.