Upon graduating from University of California, San Diego with a molecular biology degree in 1998, Stephanie moved to Pasadena and worked in a bioinformatics company in marketing and sales. The work and travel from the job expanded her dining options beyond the Chinese food she grew up with. And with exposure to European food, she began to develop an interest in wine.

Stephanie started a winemaking internship at Mondavi for the 2005 harvest and subsequently decided to relocate to Napa Valley. After another year working at a wine analysis laboratory, she began her MS in Viticulture and Enology at University of California, Davis, where she anticipates graduation in December 2008.

Stephanie is fluent in Mandarin Chinese with a good knowledge of Japanese and vague understanding of Cantonese. She used to think she would eventually relocate to China but will most likely will be making wine on a different continent. Then again, you never know...