Morét Brealynn Chavez has a first name that sounds French but a surname that is not. In fact, she is proud to be 100% Mexican and California born and bred. Her journey to becoming a winemaker and winery owner started when she moved in 2011 from Davis, California, where she was a teen center director for a Boys & Girls Club. Her destination was Sonoma County.

She began her career in the wine industry by working in hospitality in the tasting rooms of Silver Oak Cellars and Twomey in the Anderson Valley and soon realized that there was more to wine than properly pronouncing the names of varietals such as “Sauvignon.” The next step in her career was a move to a marketing position with Kosta Browne in Sebastopol. During harvest, Morét would abandon her computer in favor of working in the cellar, sorting grapes and asking questions about the process of winemaking. After two years at Kosta Browne, she joined HALL Wines, initially working in public relations before managing the marketing of the Hall’s book, A Perfect Score, a New York Times bestseller.

After completing this assignment, Morét became Kathryn Hall’s executive assistant, a role that exposed her to all aspects of the wine industry, including production, distributor relationships, human resources, event planning, and more.

The onset of the Covid pandemic in 2020 prompted the Halls to address the closure of their tasting room by launching the “Happy Hour Show,” a program that aired daily. It featured the winery’s releases and Kathryn Hall’s interviews of special guests, most of whom were involved in the wine industry; Morét was the show’s producer. This led to her meeting the winemaker Adam Lee, and he was so impressed by her organizational skills that he hired her as his general manager.

With help and advice from Adam, she was able to acquire some Pinot Noir fruit that served as the source of her first vintage in 2021under her own label, Morét-Brealynn Wines. He had remarked to her that, “You have a really great palate, have you ever thought of becoming a winemaker?” Morét’s immediate thought was that this was impossible as she was a psychology major and had no formal training in winemaking. Her success is a testament to being a woman with an insatiable curiosity for all things involving wine, not shy about taking on the tremendous amount of work needed to tackle such an industry, and who had her path altered by hearing the words, “it is not all about the formal education.”

In addition to crafting two premium Pinots, Moret is producing a Muscadelle and another Pinot, the sales from which benefit local and national animal shelters.

Morét is also a Board Member of Wine Women, a non-profit focused on connecting women in the wine industry through educational, fun, and networking opportunities. She serves as the Director of Programs, creating unique engagements to interact with the community. When she isn't working at the winery, you'll likely find her stuck in a bunker on a golf course or eating carne asada tacos with cheese.