Elizabeth Kester

Elizabeth Kester grew up in the LA area of California. At the impressionable age of 13, she fell in love with Napa Valley—her aunt, whom she often visited, had moved to St. Helena and introduced Elizabeth to its great food (and wine that she was too young to taste).

Her journey to wine began when she enrolled in the Wine and Viticulture program at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Starting with a focus on wine business, she added concentrations in viticulture and enology in her second year, earning a B.S. in Wine and Viticulture in 2009.

After graduating, Elizabeth completed a harvest internship at Edna Valley Vineyard in San Luis Obispo and had the opportunity to work with its then associate winemaker, Matt Brain (later winemaker at Alpha Omega and now at Bhutan Wine Company), whom she considers among her mentors. It was during this internship that Elizabeth realized “that she loved having purple hands and the work she was doing, and wanted to do this” as a career. She next joined BevMo! as a wine specialist for an eight-month stint in early 2010, where she had the opportunity to taste wines from around the world and further develop her palate.

Elizabeth accepted a position in the Livermore Valley later that year as enologist with Wente Family Estates, founded in 1883 and the oldest continuously operating family-owned winery in the U.S. She was named assistant winemaker in 2014, promoted to winemaker in mid-2016, and to Director of Winemaking in early 2021. As Director of Winemaking, she oversaw all activities associated with wine production of the winery’s 35 different varietals and its 800,000-case production and was also responsible for developing a more strategic alignment among viticulture, marketing, and sales.

Under Kester's leadership, Wente wines earned widespread critical acclaim, including multiple 95+ point ratings. Three wines from the Wente portfolio earned recognition in Wine Spectator's and Wine Enthusiast's List of 2024/2025 Top 100 Wines—the 2022 Chardonnay Central Coast Morning Fog, the 2022 nth degree Merlot, and the 2021 Wetmore Cabernet Sauvignon. Elizabeth was included among the 8 women globally identified by Wine Enthusiast in 2025, “as Shaking up the Wine Industry.” https://www.wineenthusiast.com/culture/wine/wines-by-female-winemakers/.

In early 2026, after more than 15 years at Wente Family Estates, Elizabeth moved to another multigenerational, family-owned winery, Buehler Vineyards in the Napa Valley. At Buehler, she will be crafting the winery’s noted Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Rosé, and red blends. Elizabeth’s winemaking philosophy centers on “elegance, balance, varietal typicity, and authentic vineyard expression which she believes “naturally aligns with the style that has defined Buehler for generations.”

Outside of the winery, Elizabeth priorities time with her family and out-of-door activities. She particularly loves food and cooking and playing golf.