Mike Moone. He has been my mentor in the wine business for over a decade while working for Moone Tsai, Luna Vineyards and launching his private vineyard brand Moone 1000 Vines. His burning entrepreneurial spirit has been contagious and inspiring. I feel lucky to have met him at such a young age to gain a positive outlook and support to succeed.

I took a trip to visit a friend in Northern California, stopped in Napa Valley for the day and fell in love. While visiting, a winery employee suggested I try a harvest internship since my background was in plant science. Within a week of my trip, I had a harvest gig lined up and made a plan to drive across the country to give winemaking a try. I jumped in feet first and never looked back.

So many to mention! The satisfaction at the end of a long harvest day. Similarly the end of harvest reflection while tasting through all the wines each year to see how they progress after weeks of hard work.

Sangiovese & freshly fired pizza (preferably with anchovies).

Cultivating excellence means making everything in our world better by working on to make every fabric of the community and industry better.

My first Napa Valley harvest was magical. My only expectation was to have fun in my early 20s with no intentions of an internship turning into a career. I was blown away by the magic of winemaking, the beauty of the vineyards and the camaraderie of the wine industry community and never left.

Making cheese

Rainbows- for a particularly vibrant wine

When not making wine in Napa, I prefer to be tent camping, preferably off the grid.

To make wines from unique vineyards that I can envision on a dinner table with incredible food and great people.