MEET STEPHANIE CUADRA
Stephanie Cuadra founded Terrestoria Wine Imports on a simple conviction: that Utahns deserve access to the kind of wines usually reserved for a handful of coastal markets, and that Utah's state-controlled system, far from being an obstacle, could serve as the vehicle for getting them there.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, and a former Salt Lake City resident, Stephanie has made Italy her home for the past two decades. Her path began with studies in intergroup relations at Georgetown University and a career in journalism, both driven by a belief in the relatable nature of all people. The wine world further cemented this worldview.
Before Terrestoria, she spent six years leading global communications and business development for Querciabella in Chianti Classico, where she still serves on the Advisory Board. That experience gave her a firsthand view of how opaque the U.S. three-tier system looks to foreign wineries, and convinced her that Utah could offer small-scale producers an alternative pathway into the world’s largest and most complex wine market.
Since Terrestoria’s first shipment, Noelia Bebelia Albariño, landed in 2017, Stephanie has worked directly with every producer in the portfolio, favoring lesser-known regions, indigenous grapes and sustainable farming, often at women-led estates. Each wine is imported directly, warehoused in Salt Lake City and sold through state wine stores or the DABS special-order system. From day one, Terrestoria’s purpose could be summed up in three words: WINE FOR UTAH.
Along the way, Terrestoria has surprised many by putting this corner of the Intermountain West on the map of wine connoisseurship. It has earned regular coverage in local, national and international outlets, including VinePair, Monocleand Wine-Searcher; appeared in the documentary On the Fringes of Tierdom; and hosted countless wine-centric events, such as The Masterclass Utah Summer Series.
Stephanie and her husband, Roberto Lasorte, are also producers in their own right. At Lasorte Cuadra, in Puglia’s Valle d’Itria, they work alongside generational farming families and the region’s last traditional cellar cooperative to make Silos, a field blend of rare Apulian grapes that reaches the United States primarily through Utah.
Whether importing to Utah, producing wine in Puglia or building a life in Chianti Classico, Stephanie is always looking for new ways to bring unlikely partners to the same table. Her latest project, Enopolitik, is an itinerant platform devoted to citizen diplomacy for wine enthusiasts.