From Campus to Cellar: Wine Education with Stephanie Staab

Welcome back to Pour Temecula! This week, we’re following up on our recent episode about wine certifications by taking the conversation one step further—with someone who bridges both the academic and professional sides of wine education. Today’s guest is Stephanie Staab—a Sommelier, WSET Diploma Candidate, and luxury wine consultant with over a decade of experience in winery business, marketing, and education right here in Temecula Valley. She teaches Winery Business Principles at Mount San Jacinto College, NYU graduate, holds an MBA in Luxury Brand Management from ESSEC in Paris, and runs her own consulting company, The Luxe Sip, where she brings wine to life through events, strategy, and personalized advising. In this episode, Stephanie shares with Shannon how collegiate-level wine education differs from programs like WSET and the Court of Master Sommeliers—offering insight into how real-world experience intersects with theory. We talk about keeping non-wine students engaged, the unexpected career paths that aren’t often highlighted in traditional wine tracks, and what the next generation of wine professionals really needs to thrive. It’s a thoughtful, informed look at what it means to teach wine today.  We’d love to hear from you! Whether it’s your favorite winery, a memorable story, a question, or let us know what topics you’d like us to cover — leave us a voice message on Speakpipe, and you might hear yourself on a future episode! Contact us on Instagram (@pourtemecula) or send us a message ([email protected])—we're always excited to connect with fellow wine, beer, and beverage lovers!