Yoon Ha

Coming Up

Formal study at University of California Santa Barbara preceded cellar and floor work in Napa, where Yoon Ha was sommelier at La Toque in Rutherford and Downtown Napa (until 2010). That early service context required the basic trade skills of the role: translating a list, reading the table, matching pace, and applying knowledge only when it improved the guest’s experience. Dining Room and beverage leadership became the central frame at Benu in San Francisco (2010–2020), where Yoon Ha served as Dining Room and Beverage Director / Wine Director. The work sat between service command and beverage precision: understanding a dish before pairing it, weighing texture, temperature, preparation, and intensity, then choosing wine with enough structure and restraint to fit the plate. Today, Yoon is with Preferabli.

Where They Are Now

Preference is a practical matter in wine: it is read through language, hesitation, appetite, context, and prior experience. At Preferabli, Yoon Ha’s current work follows a decade in San Francisco Dining Room and beverage leadership and earlier sommelier work in Napa. The continuity is attention to structure and signal—what a guest is asking for, what a wine can do, and how taste can be understood with more accuracy. Formal wine training also sits inside that arc. In 2012, Yoon Ha was associated with the Court of Master Sommeliers. “My desire to become a Master Sommelier was rooted in my intent to become the best hospitality wine professional to my ability. As simple as that.” In trade terms, the aim is service readiness: accuracy, recall, calibration, and improvement of the guest experience without unnecessary display.

Signature

Pairing practice, as reflected in Yoon Ha’s association with the named wine focus At La Toque, depends on context before selection. The wine is judged against the dish, the room, and the person at the table. The signature is proportion: identify the working elements in the plate, then let the pairing answer those elements with clarity rather than weight.

In Their Words “As I taste the dish, my goal is to understand the function of each ingredient, the nature and level of their contribution, and how their cooking method(s) have influenced the flavor experience.” “My approach to every dish, in regards to pairing with wine, bears a striking resemblance to the Court’s blind tasting method. I visually deduce the dish down to its parts prior to tasting.”

Honors

Yoon's honors include James Beard Award for Best Wine Program (2019).