In hindsight, the creation of FireTrails was inevitable—the culmination of a passion smoldering for almost thirty years. Smelling only jet fuel on the tarmac at Fiumicino, circa June 1997, without having ever glimpsed an iconic monument or tried cacio e pepe—let alone know what it was—Leif instantly felt that Italy was his place, his calling. 

With encouragement from his ever-supportive mother and new mentor/professor at the University of Oregon (who graciously overlooked his lack of previous study in Italian), Leif enrolled in an intensive summer language program in Perugia, capital of Umbria.

After two fast paced weeks in the program, and against sturdy counsel from his academic advisor (“What do you expect to do with a degree in Italian?”), Leif ultimately chose to pursue a B.A. in Italian language and eventually an M.A. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in Italian literature and cinema. Eschewing a more obvious track in academia, his path instead led to gastronomy and wine. 

Upon return from a second stint studying in Florence, Italy, with Syracuse University, Leif stood pleading with Beppe in Eugene, Oregon, to give him a job as a busboy—again without prior experience—at Beppe & Gianni’s, a newly opened restaurant (still going strong!). From these meager beginnings, He worked in many phenomenal wine bars and restaurants in Manhattan and San Francisco, picking up every crumb of knowledge that he could along the way. After taking 2011 to guide cycling tours in Italy for Butterfield & Robinson, hospitality segued into a still active career in wine sales specializing in Italian wine. 

Over the years Leif has represented many of the most outstanding Italian growers and producers (too many to name!), telling their stories and placing their wines in the best (not always Italian) shops and restaurants in the Bay Area: Acquerello, A16, Altovino, Sociale, Biondivino, Che Fico, State Bird Group, Flatiron, Swirl on Castro, Trattoria Contadina, Delfina, Kitchen Istanbul, Flour + Water, Piccino, Dig, Ungrafted, Waterbar, Cotogna/Quince, La Ciccia, Perbacco, Arlequin, Birba and so many more. Leif says, “It never gets old shooting a message to a producer, feeling their unbridled satisfaction about one of their wines being poured halfway across the world in a city of their dreams.”     

Leif currently resides with his partner Beatriz, their cat Penelope and bunny Jotaro on Telegraph Hill in San Francisco. When he isn’t pouring wine and cooking with friends, you can find him watching old movies, hitting the ski slopes in the winter, on a bike when it isn’t raining and in the wild whenever possible. 

Ci vediamo in Italia!