Yoon Ha has more than 30 years of restaurant experience. Prior to opening Benu in 2010, a Michelin 3-Star restaurant in San Francisco, he worked at La Toque in Rutherford and Downtown Napa. He was awarded The James Beard Award for Best Wine Program in 2019. Yoon was born in Seoul, Korea and immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 7. He is a graduate of University of California Santa Barbara.
Where are you working currently and how has being a MS supported you in your current role?
I work for Preferabli, a leader in B2B2C discovery and guided recommendation software for wine, spirits and food. I was wine director at Benu, a Michelin 3-Star restaurant in San Francisco which I helped open in 2010. My tenure ended in March of 2020 with the Covid-19 lockdown. 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.
What advice do you give those who are pursuing certification?
My best advice is to build a strong study/tasting group. I was fortunate to taste and study weekly with Jason Heller, Sur Lucero and Dennis Kelly spanning back to our Advanced Exam preparations in 2007. Our friendship extends far beyond wine.
Theory was the biggest hurdle. Time was difficult to come by back then because Benu was new and there was a lot of demand. I couldn’t find sufficient time to study, and when I did, I was short on organization and discipline. Eventually we hired two key people to the FOH team. This freed me up until midday and I just attacked theory for 8 months straight – index cards, audio recordings, maps, easel tear sheets taped all throughout the house. It was all very structured and methodical. I don’t recall passing on a single question in my theory exam in Dallas 2012.
What wines/beverages are you currently excited about?
Currently I’m very excited about the traditional alcoholic beverages of Korea. Fellow MS and Korean, Kyungmoon Kim imports very compelling examples into the U.S.
