Rebecca Fineman

The Climb

Pomona College gave Rebecca Fineman a formal base for the kind of attention the trade asks for. From there, a restaurant job became the first direct lesson in service, where food, wine, and pacing shape the experience as much as the list itself. That setting made wine legible as more than a beverage; it functioned as a working language in the dining room, one that rewards listening, restraint, and memory. The move from college to restaurant floor to specialized wine work reads as a steady accumulation of skill, built one tasting and one encounter at a time.

Today

At Ungrafted in San Francisco, Rebecca Fineman serves as Wine Director, with wine as the center of the work. The role gathers the parts of her path into a practical format: selection, tasting, and guidance. In a city known for speed, that work depends on steady judgment and exacting attention to detail. Wine Director is a position that carries both stewardship and point of view, and for Rebecca Fineman it marks the point where curiosity became professional practice.

In Their Words “I started to taste wine in a way I never had before and I tried wines, like Sherry, which transported me to other places.” “I learned about food, I learned about culture, farming and history.” Those lines describe wine as a field of study as much as a drink. Tasting becomes a method of access, with each bottle carrying geography, memory, and context. The reference to Sherry shows the shift from casual consumption to active exploration, where the glass opens onto something larger than flavor alone.

Recognition

Rebecca Fineman has received Court of Master Sommeliers, Master Sommelier (2017). Rebecca Fineman’s recognition sits in the work itself: in the responsibility of directing a wine program and in the knowledge built through tasting, study, and service. The path from a restaurant job to Wine Director at Ungrafted in San Francisco gives the title its weight. It reflects a career formed by practice rather than publicity, and by the accumulation of expertise that the trade can read plainly.