DWWA judge profile: Theresa Paopao

Theresa Paopao is a judge at the 2019 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA).

Theresa Paopao

Theresa Paopao hails from the small town of Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii. She left island life to pursue a graduate degree at the Yale School of Drama in New Haven, and then moved to Boston where she fell in love with the restaurant business and the world of wine. On joining the Oleana in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Paopao became serious about a career in hospitality and beverages, and after working as manager, she went on to be their wine director and general manager.

In 2010, she joined the New York Momofuku team as wine director, a role which took her to Ontario to open their new spaces in Toronto in 2012. Paopao is now back in Boston where she is the beverage director and general manager of Ribelle, which earned four stars from the Boston Globe shortly after it opened in 2013.