Features of the Month

Check this page for the current and previous Features of the Month! Check the homepage for the lastest Feature!

[Aug 2026]

• How Argentina’s First Female Winemaker is Redefining Wine Country Luxury.
  Few names carry the gravitas of Susana Balbo in the world of Argentine wine OR in the world of wine.

[Jul 2026]

• Eileen Crane, Trailblazing California Sparkling Winemaker, Dies at 77.
  She built Gloria Ferrer and Domaine Carneros and established California sparkling wine
• Une Femme Wines Earns 2026 Keggy Award, Recognizing Its Commitment to Sustainability.
  Evyn Cameron, Head Winemaker at Une Femme, notes that the award underscores Une Femme's broader commitment to sustainability from sourcing from Certified Sustainable vineyards to commitments beyond the vineyard.

[May 2026]

• Malbec's Living Memory: Dr. Laura Catena On Why Old Vines Matter.
  Argentina’s old, ungrafted Malbec vines are a viticultural treasure the rest of the world has largely lost.
• Grand Dames The Her-story of Oregon Wine.
  Learn about the women, now in their 80s, who helped establish now well known Oregon wineries.

[Apr 2026]

• At the table with Dr Laura Catena, star of Argentina's wine scene.
  Fourth-generation vintner Dr Laura Catena shares her wine journey.

[Dec 2025]

• Gender Equity Research and Tool Kit.
  A comprehensive resource, designed and developed by researchers from Australia’s Charles Sturt University and University of NSW, to support the practical advancement of gender equity and inclusivity practices across the wine sector.

[Nov 2025]

• Women Winemakers Receive Greater Acclaim For Top-Rated California Wines, Not Only Chardonnay.
  Our most recent set of studies found that although the wineries with lead women winemakers are far fewer in number than those with their male counterparts, their wines are disproportionally more highly recognized for their quality.

[Oct 2025]

• Wine Star: Quintessa’s Rebekah Wineburg.
  This Napa winemaker crafts one of the world’s great Sauvignon Blancs in Cabernet country, according to Wine Spectator.

[Sep 2025]

• Ryme’s Hers and His Vermentinos and a Trip Back to The Dakota.
  Dorothy J. Gaiter & John Brecher describe the “The His and Hers Vermentinos," two different wines each made in the style preferred by either Ryan or Megan Rhyme, Rhyme’s co-winemakers and co-owners.
• 8 Latinx Experts Changing the Face of Wine.
  Read about Paso Robles winemaker Nancy Ulloa of Ulloa Cellars, and Santa Barbara winemaker Cecy Castillo of Mi Casa Wine Co.

[Aug 2025]

• Facing Difficulties, 6 Small California Wine Businesses Band Together.
  The collective includes Martha Stoumen of Martha Stoumen Wines, Noah and Kelly Dorrance of Reeve Wines and BloodRoot Wines, Sam Bilbro of Idlewild Wines and David Drummond of Overshine and Comunità.

[Jun 2025]

• Great American Wines That Stand the Test of Time.
  NY Times wine critic identifies California wines that stand the test of time. "In Napa Valley I would single out Philip Togni Vineyard, Spottswoode, and Corison." All three have women owners, and two have women winemakers, Lisa Togni and Cathy Corison.

[Mar 2025]

• ON THE TRAIL OF ZIN – WITH A WOMAN’S TOUCH..
  The role of women in wine has revolutionized how the wine world. Nowhere in wine is this positive trend more evident than in California Zinfandel!

[Feb 2025]

• The Dusi Family Marks 100 Years Of Farming Paso Robles Zinfandel.
  Over the past century, five generations of the Dusi family have fostered the dream of their ancestors. “Farming and winemaking is not just what we do; it’s who we are.”

[Jan 2025]

• The Majesty of Time: 25 Years of Corison’s Kronos Cabernet.
  Cathy Corison’s succession story.
• The Amazing Grace of Californian Grenache.
  Be introduced to the talented winemaker Angela Osborne and her passion for Grenache!

[Nov 2024]

• Keeping It in the Family, Part II: Next Generation Successes in Sonoma.
  In this article, we share the generational-transition stories of 6 highly-regarded family-owned Sonoma County wineries: A. Rafanelli Winery, Hafner Vineyard, Hawley Winery, J. Rochioli Vineyards and Winery, Nalle Winery, and Peterson Winery plus offers our insights and reflections, and a coda.
• Keeping It in the Family, Part I: Next Generation Successes in Napa.
  In this article, we share the generational transition stories of 6 iconic family-owned Napa Valley wineries, Buehler Vineyards, Corison Winery, Dunn Vineyards, Philip Togni Vineyard, Storybook Mountain Vineyards, and VIADER plus offer our own insights and reflections.
• Ashley Trout and Vital Wines.
  This nonprofit winery in Walla Walla, WA, connects vineyard workers to health care.

[Oct 2024]

• Native American Terroir: Tribes Reclaim Land with Vines and Wineries.
  Tara Gomez of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians is among these indigenous winemakers.

[May 2024]

• Theodora Lee, the first Black vineyard owner and wine producer in Mendocino County, sponsors scholarships.
  Link description goes here.

[Apr 2024]

• AAAV 2024 Symposium Honors Black Wine Entrepreneurs.
  AAAV’s 2024 Trailblazer Award was given to Iris Rideau, the first Black woman in America to own and operate a vineyard.
• The Sisterhood of Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country.
  Some positive news from the Okanagan region of British Columbia

[Feb 2024]

• Remembering María Isabel Mijares García-Pelayo: The First Female Oenologist in Spain.
  The first woman to run a winery, she left an enduring legacy on Spanish wine culture.

[Jan 2024]

• 15 Up-and-coming International Winemakers to Watch in 2024.
  Rosalind Reynolds of Emme Wines in Sonoma is among those included!
• The Wine Heiresses Apparent.
  It used to be rare, but around the wine world, and with a particular concentration in Chianti Classico, daughters are taking on winemaking leadership roles.

[Sep 2023]

• The Women Winemakers of the Okanagan Are Holding Their Ground.
  Read our latest study!

[Aug 2023]

• Wine History Project: Legend of Caterina Gazzaroli Dusi..
  Libbie Agran has written the "Legend of Caterina Gazzaroli Dusi," a viticulturist who emigrated from Italy to Paso Robles, and whose contribution has been invisible too long.

[Jul 2023]

• This couple is making ‘Pride wine’ in the Santa Ynez Valley to uplift the LGBTQ+ community.
  Camins 2 Dreams is donating 60% of proceeds to local organizations.

[Jun 2023]

• LGBTQ+ Winemakers and Advocates Push For Representation — Not Pinkwashing - in the World of Wine.
  Read about the winemakers and their wines.

[May 2023]

• Our Case Study of Iconic Napa Valley Wineries with a Change in Ownership and Their Women Winemakers.
  Nineteen iconic Napa wineries had a change in ownership since 2000. A woman currently holds the lead winemaking position at nine (47%) of these 19 wineries.

[Apr 2023]

• Where Quintessa fits within the new, new age of Napa.
  Rebekah Wineberg, Quintessa's celebrated winemaker, notes the importance of the generation of women winemakers who led the way.

[Mar 2023]

• What It’s Really Like to Be a Black Wine Professional. A complex history.
  Understanding history is important in understanding the hurdles and changing the narrative.

[Feb 2023]

• J. Lohr Fosters the Next Generation of Winemaking Talent.
  Kristen Barnhisel, white winemaker at J. Lohr, is central to a series of online sessions shadowing the winemaking team—and Barnhisel herself.

[Jan 2023]

• Kathy Joseph's Fiddlehead Grüner: Risk, Age and Wisdom.
  This trailblazing woman winemaker continues to push winemaking boundaries!

[Dec 2022]

• Dames of the Rogue.
  Meet the women influencing Southern Oregon wine

[Nov 2022]

• Sparkling Conversations.
  Read the riveting stories from California women winemakers who craft sparking wines.

[Sep 2022]

• Trailblazer Theodora Lee, founder of Mendocino County’s Theopolis Vineyards, mentors and leads..
  “I’m happy to say that now there is a lot of opportunity for women and people of color in the wine industry.”

[Aug 2022]

• Wine Reviews: It takes a village.
  Read about the women winemakers of the Coonawarra in Australia and the secret of their success.

[Jul 2022]

• Meet Champagne House Perrier-Jouët’s First Female Cellar Master..
  Severine Frerson, 45, is just the eighth Perrier-Jouët’s cellar master since its founding in 1811, and the first woman to hold this position. Still today there are less then 10 women in the Champagne region who are cellar masters.

[Jun 2022]

• African American Vintners and a Powerful Word for the Future.
  Informative article by Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher

[Mar 2022]

• Celebrating Women's History Month.
  Three Women Bring Special Recognition to Southern Italy’s Wine Regions of Irpinia and Sicily

[Feb 2022]

• A Valentine's Odyssey.
  California's "Camins 2 Dreams" winemakers, Tara Gomez and Mireia Taribó, bring together their two cultures in friendship, love, and award-winning winemaking.

[Jan 2022]

• Women Winemakers of Loudoun County in Northern VA.
  Melanie Natoli, named 2017 Woman Winemaker of the Year at the Women’s International Wine Competition is among the three winemakers.

[Nov 2021]

• Tara Gomez named winemaker of the year by VinePair.
  Hailing from the coastal Santa Ynez Valley in California’s Santa Barbara County, Tara Gomez makes wine with culture and place in mind.
• Meet the Wonderful Women Winemakers of Maryland.
  A growing number of Maryland's 60+ wineries have a women winemaker.

[Sep 2021]

• Adjusting to the New Normal: Conversation with Wine & Soul's Sandra Tavares.
  Sandra Tavares is one of Portugal's rising stars.
• Women and Revolution (WaR).
  Meet the female collective in Australia disrupting the wine industry's status quo

[Jul 2021]

• Carbon Capture During Fermentation.
  Diana Snowden Seysses of Burgundy's Domaine Dujac and Napa's Snowden Vyds explains how producers can become key players in the future of green fuel.

[Jun 2021]

• Cattleya: A Woman’s Touch.
  The Prince of Pinot describes the wonderful Pinots of Bibiana González Rave.

[Feb 2021]

• From La Transmission to Les Fa'Bulleuses.
  Women who are taking their places in Champagne’s leadership!

[Dec 2020]

• Our Newest Study.
  California's Next Generation Lead Women Winemakers and the Promise that Accompanies Their Success
• Q & A with Lucia and John Gilbert, Authors of Women Winemakers: Personal Odysseys.
  Interview with Christopher Barnes of Grape Collective.

[Sep 2020]

• Book Review.
  Mike Veseth, Editor of The Wine Economist, writes that "Women Winemakers: Personal Odysseys" makes a distinctive contribution to our understanding and appreciation of global wine.

[Aug 2020]

• Distinguished Wine Writer Miquel Hudin Gives “Women Winemakers: Personal Odysseys” a Positive Review.
  “A well-researched, detailed text that covers key women in various wine regions throughout the world by letting them speak directly with their own voices.”
• Esteemed Trail-Blazing Women Winemaker Milla Handley Dies at 68.
  Milla was the “Pioneer Queen” of Anderson Valley Pinot Noir and Handley Cellars Founder.

[Jul 2020]

• The Rise of American Wine Pioneer Tonya Pitts.
  An early advocate for featuring women and people of color on wine lists.

[Jun 2020]

• Champagne AR Lenoble Trying to Celebrate 100 years in a Pandemic.
  The fearless leader of this family-owned house is Anne Malassagne.

[May 2020]

• Michael Perlis: Women Winemakers.
  Thoughtful commentary about the importance of our website and our new book, Women Winemakers.

[Apr 2020]

• Bibiana González Rave.
  A talented young winemaker creates a life-affirming Rosé.

[Dec 2019]

• Napa's Francoise Peschon.
  SF Chronicle's 2019 Winemaker of the Year

[Nov 2019]

• Trailblazer Helen Turley named to California Hall of Fame.
  She is the third California winemaker and the first woman winemaker to be inducted.

[Aug 2019]

• Women Winemakers in the Piemonte-Langhe: The "Curse" Upended.
  This article describes our conversations with 10 talented winemakers in this important wine region of Italy.

[Jun 2019]

• Laura Catena, Argentinian winemaker and physician, speaks at UC Davis.
  “How Science Can Preserve the Ancient Art of Winemaking”

[Apr 2019]

• Pam Starr is on "a journey of terroir".
  The co-owner and winemaker of Crocker & Starr explains ...

[Mar 2019]

• Familia Torres and Jackson Family Wines Join Efforts to Create Working Group of Wineries to Decarbonize the Industry.
  An effort led by Katie Jackson.

[Feb 2019]

• From La Transmission to Les Fa’Bulleuses: Femmes de Vin Advancing Champagne.
  Women are bringing about significant change in this traditional wine region.

[Oct 2018]

• Young women leading the way.
  Megan Glaab, Jaimee Motley, and Angela Osborne considered among the four most innovative winemakers in California by Jon Bonné.
• Diana Snowden Seysses Brings a Burgundian Mindset to Napa:.
  She crafts wine in both France and California.

[Aug 2018]

• Napa's Cathy Corison continues to lead.
  A thoughtful and engaging description of Corison's career in wine-making.

[Jul 2018]

• In Champagne, a third woman appointed Chef de Cave.
  The highly capable Séverine Frerson holds this position at Piper-Heidsieck.

[Jun 2018]

• The Inspiring and Iconic Women Winemakers of New Zealand's Hawke's Bay Wine Region.
  (We authored this article)

[Apr 2018]

• At Some of Europe’s Oldest Family Wineries, the Future Is (Finally).
  WOMEN
• Merry Edwards is still full of surprises.
  One of California’s Wine Pioneers continues to teach us.

[Mar 2018]

• New Zealand's`Women in Wine' group.
  Its goal is to support female advancement in the industry

[Feb 2018]

• Karissa Kruse is Sonoma County Winegrowers First Female President.
  She and her predominately female team are leading the way to Sonoma's becoming America’s first 100% certified sustainable wine region.

[Jan 2018]

• Interested in Becoming a Winemaker?.
  Elizabeth Vianna, a well-know winemaker in Napa, shares her thoughts.

[Dec 2017]

• Julianne Laks retires from Cakebread Cellars.
  A highly regarded winemaker, Laks was appointed winemaker in 2002; her successor is Stephanie Jacobs.

[Oct 2017]

• 7 Tips from Jancis Robinson for Women in Wine.
  Advice from this world-renowned wine critic to the next generation.

[Aug 2017]

• The Daily Meal's 101 Best Wineries in American 2007.
  Of the 62 CA wineries listed, six (10%) have women winemaker/owners, a viticulturist/owner, or lead women winemakers: Cathy Corison (#3 on the list of 101); Genevieve Janssens and Megan Schofield, Robert Mondavi Winery; Helen Kiplinger; Annie Favia; Montse Reece, Pedroncelli Cellars; and Elysze Perry, Bokisch Vineyards. Congrats to all!

[Jul 2017]

• Walla Walla Women Winemakers Challenge the Status Quo.
  Read about our visit and what we learned.

[Jun 2017]

• California's Trailblazing Women Winemakers: The First 20 Years.
  Celebrating our history from 1965 to 1984.

[Feb 2017]

• The Women Leading Portugal's New Douro.
  Our engaging conversations with award-winning winemakers

[Jan 2017]

• Rosemary Cakebread.
  She helped bring Napa Valley Cabernet to prominence.

[Sep 2016]

• 16 Top Women in Liquor and Wine.
  Interesting interviews with Napa winemakers, Cathy Corison, Pauline Lhote, and Erin Miller, among others.

[Jun 2016]

• Femmes et vins de Bourgogne.
  In 2000, six women wine makers from family domains in Burgundy, France – Anne Parent, Anne Schussler, Mireille Desmonet, Chantal Michel Tortochot, and Virginie Taupenot founded Femmes et vins de Bourgogne. Today there are 38 members.

[Aug 2015]

• Conversations with Women Winemakers in Spain's Priorat Wine Region.
  Meet six highly talented and inspiring winemakers who craft their wines in this hauntingly beautiful wine region: Daphne Glorian-Solomon, Sandra Doix Mora, Isabel Fortuny, Maria Sangenís, Mireia Torres Maczassek, and Pilar Salillas.

[Jun 2015]

• Spain's Penedès Region and its Women Winemakers.
  Our second conversation with women winemakers in other countries.

[May 2015]

• Our Latest Study on CA Wineries and Their Winemakers.
  This innovative case study provides a 21st Century view on the status of California’s Women Winemakers.

[Mar 2015]

• Susan Balbao, President of the Wines of Argentina, makes an important statement.
  And the experience was very positive although some panelists were initially hesitant to participate. Compared to previous years, fewer gold medals were awarded overall and more awards were made to smaller and boutique wineries.

[Oct 2014]

• Rioja, Spain and its Women Winemakers.
  Our first conversation with women winemakers in other countries.

[Apr 2014]

• “Top 100 most influential US Winemakers “.
  Despite its subjectivity, it is worth noting that of the 100 winemakers listed, 73% (N=73) were in CA. Of these, 16.4% were women winemakers (N=12). Ten of the 12 women are located in Napa or Sonoma.

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Last Updated August 2026