Lee Lightfoot, Sommelier

After studying biochemistry at Berkeley and working in the laboratories at Stanford University, the allure of the pastoral California wine lifestyle drew Lee back home. He has been a fixture on the Monterey Peninsula wine scene ever since as the sommelier at La Bicyclette, assistant winemaker at Joyce, wine director at the fabled Cachagua General Store and beverage manager at Carmel Valley Ranch. He spent many years living down the Big Sur coast working at Nepenthe restaurant which has a view to match their world class wine list. He has assisted with the Big Sur Food & Wine festival since its inception in addition to Relais & Châteaux's GourmetFest and Pebble Beach Food & Wine. Currently he represents the bay area based wine distributor WineWise and resides in Carmel Valley with his wife, two sons and two cats.