Year and degree of graduation
B.S. in Viticulture & Enology, 2003
Current job title/company
Winemaker, Far Niente Winery
What have you been up to since you graduated?
I went straight from graduation into several harvest internships, including one abroad in New Zealand. In 2005, I was hired as an Enologist for Far Niente, moved up to Assistant Winemaker, and eventually Winemaker in 2009. Since then, I’ve been making Napa Valley Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon with an incredible team, like my Assistant Winemaker Sara Jablow, another UCD Alumna. In addition to making wine, I’ve been enjoying life in wine country with my husband and two sons. I watch a lot of youth soccer games!
Do you feel your UC Davis experience benefited your career?
Absolutely! Curiosity and problem-solving are incredibly important in winemaking. UC Davis gave me such a solid foundation to develop these skills. Every harvest is an opportunity to learn something new about grapes and wine.
What is the most rewarding part of being in the industry/your job?
I love that wine is a community. I really feel that at UC Davis, we were a small, close-knit, group in my graduating year. It’s especially rewarding to share a bottle of our wine with others, knowing that it took a team in the vineyard and a team in the winery to get to that point. Not only that, but what we’ve made has the potential to bring friends and family together to make a memory. That’s pretty unique and special.
What are some of the most difficult challenges you have faced in the grape or wine industry?
Mother Nature really likes to throw curve balls…from rain to fires, earthquakes to heat spikes, we’ve faced a lot of weather challenges in my time at Far Niente. The fires in 2020 were probably the most difficult; it almost felt like the end of the world! But I’m even more proud of the wines we made from that vintage because of it!
Is there anything you would like to share with current UCD V&E students?
Making wine is an awesome job, most of the time because of the people you get to make it with. While science skills are definitely necessary, people skills like collaboration, empathy, and compromise are just as important.
How has the pandemic affected you?
The pandemic was scary, especially since wine can’t be made remotely and we still needed to be at the winery. I think that the experience brought us even closer as a team, because we knew our personal decisions could have broader implications.
What is one unique thing about you?
I only discovered the V&E department at UCD by chance. I was working as a features writer for The Aggie and was assigned a story on wine and health. I interviewed Dr. Waterhouse and thought wine sounded like a great application for the science I was already studying. I took Dr. Meredith’s intro class, changed majors, and never looked back. Needless to say, my journalism career was short-lived.