Quite some time ago I had gone on to our Hoot n Annie Facebook page and asked who all the female winemakers in the Paso Robles area were and the response was amazing. I thought there were only a small handful but turns out there were about 21 names mentioned. I could not confirm a few of them so I believe there are about 19 but I’m sure there are more out there that were missed.
Here’s the list but please keep in mind that some of this information may not be completely accurate so if you have any info that could help make this list more accurate please let me know in the comment section below. My only “rules” are that they are female (obviously), preferably that they are winemakers in North County (from Santa Margarita to San Miguel), and that they are the winemaker or the assistant winemaker.
Amy Butler- Ranchero Cellars (this is her label but she also consults or has consulted for others like Red Soles, LXV, etc.)
Danielle Shaw- Caliza Winery (assistant)
Shannon Gustafson- Rangeland Wines
Janell Dusi- J. Dusi Wines
Vaila Esh- Desperada Wines
Chrissy Wittmann- Wild Horse Winery
Amy Freeman- EOS Estate Winery
Jordan Fiorentini- Epoch Estate Wines
Tiffanee Vierra- Derby Wine Estates
Hilary Graves- Graves Winegrowers
Stephanie Terrizzi- Giornata
Samantha C. Taylor- Hope Family Wines (assistant)
Jennifer Hoage- Terry Hoage Vineyards
Amanda Cramer- August Ridge Vineyards
Denise Valoff- Donati Family Vineyard
Riley Hubbard- Law Estate Wines (assistant)
Lisa Pretty- Pretty-Smith Winery
Chelsea Franchi- Tablas Creek Winery (assistant)
Dorothy Schuler- Bodegas Paso Robles
Katie Vogt- E&J Gallo Central Coast (assistant)
Molly Strupp- Halter Ranch Vineyard (assistant)
Patti Bello- B&E Vineyards
Joyce Murray- Bon Niche Cellars
Judy Starr- Starr Ranch Winery
Kate Dubost- Dubost Ranch Winery
Signe Zoller- Laraneta, Twin Coyotes and others
Becky Zelinski- First Crush Cellars
Again, please let me know what info is wrong or what is missing. There are a few holes above but this needs to be crowd sourced.
Now…all that being said, why the hell did I want to write about female winemakers?
Well, I like females and I like wine. That being said I thought it would be pretty cool to highlight them and show them some appreciation. As I was working on this I started wondering why we do that…why we call them female winemakers rather than winemakers. If someone is black do we call them a black winemaker? How about a gay winemaker? Midget winemaker? We don’t say white winemaker or male winemaker now do we?
I ended up sitting somewhere in the middle on this. I get it, there are more male winemakers in Paso than female winemakers so we acknowledge that by including “female” as a descriptor of who/ what they are. On the flip side, who gives a damn if they are male or female…I just want the wine to be good and hopefully the winemaker is a cool person. Whether that person/ winemaker has a penis or a vagina shouldn’t really matter…should it?
Let me know your thoughts and please give me any other info you have to make my list more complete. It would be greatly appreciated.
Love your topic & sense of humor with it!
I wanna add Chelsea Franchi, assistant winemaker to Neil Collins at Tablas Creek. She is awesome! Also makes beer 😉
Dani, thanks for the comments and we will add her to the list. Thanks for the help.
Josephine Barton… lol lmfao
Dorothy Schuler http://www.bodegaspasorobles.com
Jeremy, 🙂 just thought of Dorothy. Thanks bud. As for Josephine, just had to see if anyone would catch that. 🙂 LOL
When did Riley start making the wines at Law Estates? I thought Scott Hawley of Torrin was making the Law Estate Wines?
Mitch, was going off info given. I will triple check that one. Thanks brother.
Just got confirmation that Riley is indeed assistant winemaker.
I too was going to mention law. I think that is Scott Hawley. Also, I don’t think Maggie Tillman is a winemaker at Alta Colina. I think her dad is the winemaker, and another woman is the assistant
Jordan, okay…triple checking the Law thing. As for Alta Colina, I’m pretty sure her hands are on the winemaking process but I messaged her on Facebook to confirm.
Just got confirmation that Riley is indeed the assistant winemaker.
Thank you Comadre. Thoroughly enjoyed reading. Long overdue.
Thanks, Mama Hug! 🙂 It’s an interesting topic and I’d like to see more female winemakers here. I am sure it will happen.
I thought Addie Pitts made wine at Law? haha Oh, I think I heard Niner hired Amy Freeman.
Tess…I will look into the Amy Freeman thing. The info I got was EOS but I will triple check that one. As for Law… 🙂
Hey friends! While I’d love to be the boss lady, I’m an assistant …and don’t forget Katie Vogt she’s an assistant winemaker for E&J Gallo Central Coast (but based out of Courtside San Miguel). Also, Molly Strupp is also an assistant winemaker at Halter Ranch.
Samantha, yes, we will add winemaker or assistant winemaker next to the names we know. You rock homie…thanks for the added info!!
Hi Matt!
Pati Bello at B&E Vineyard is another, as well as Joyce Murray at Bon Niche Cellars. Great post!
Kyndal, thank you. Are they winemakers or assistant winemakers?
They are both winemakers. Joyce and her husband are both owner/winemakers of Bon Niche.
Kyndal, thank you, you rock!! 🙂
Wow Matt, that’s some list you put together! Everyone is forgetting the grandfather (mother) female winemaker Signe Zoller! I’m pretty sure half your list were her assistants at one time or another. Right now she’s winemaker for Laraneta, Cuatro Dias, Twin Coyotes and several others. Then there’s Becky Zelinski at First Crush who makes fabulous wines. Jennifer Soni of Lions Peak. She makes wine in Paso but tasting room is in Solvang. That’s all I got right this minute 😉
Cyndee, thank you and I had not forgotten about Signe…just did not know she was making wine anymore. Thanks for that info…we will add it. As for Jennifer…, so she does no tastings in Paso? Solvang only?
Nicole Pease might have something to do with the wine at Paix Sur Terre, but it might be all Ryan…not sure 😉
Nice list Matt – (and everybody else). I think you’ve assembled a solid list. It raises a good question of whether it matters who makes the wine – male or female. I think the bigger issue to see is that there are lots of opportunities (and hopefully more) for women in winemaking. As a father to two girls, this makes me optimistic for their future. Some of these winemakers listed above are the best around, regardless of gender! I’ll drink a glass of Ranchero Cellars to that! Cheers, JP
I agree, Joel and am also happy for the future of women in the industry. It’s unfortunate that it has taken so long for this to happen in any industry but at least there is a shift.
Correct on Jennifer Soni. No presence in Paso that I know of.
Signe will NEVER stop making wine!
OMG! That reminds me…Judy Starr and Kate Dubost! 2 of the other grandfathers/mothers…LOL!
Cyndee, this is why I had to crowd course the info…impossible to get it all by myself. 🙂
I meant “crowd source”.
Also, Cathy Perata of Fratelli Perata. She and her father make the wine there.
Interesting topic. Obviously it shouldn’t matter if great wine is made by a man or woman, but it does highlight the fact that the position of winemaker is definitely dominated by men. Not too dissimilar from head chef, another fairly male dominated career.
Thanks for the info, Christopher. There are a ton of “male dominated” fields and a handful of female dominated. Just weird…should be based on who can do the job and do it well.
How about Pam Locke at Ecluse. She’s owner/winemaker along with her husband Steve.
Phil, I did not know that…thanks for the info!! 🙂
Joanne Russell winemaker for Russell Family Vineyards a small 1500 case high end winery
Erich, in Paso Robles? Not heard of them. I will have to check them out.
Matt–love this piece! I’m with you. As long as the wines are awesome and the maker is cool I don’t care who does the work.
I must rescind the “winemaker” title sadly. Though I participate in picks and lend extra help in the winery I can’t claim I make our wines. It’s all Bob and Soren!
Thanks Maggie!! We will correct your part. I agree with you though, doesn’t matter who makes the wine! 🙂
Hopefully soon female winemakers will just be called winemakers. Great article!
I hope so, Miesha. It’s like anything…female CEO, black hockey player…etc. I don’t understand why we have to label things like that! Thanks for the comment.