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J Dusi Wines

Paso Robles: Female Winemakers

June 9, 2014 matt 38 Comments

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.

Wine Makers

Comments

  1. Dani Archambeault says

    June 9, 2014 at 3:12 pm

    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 😉

    Reply
    • Matt (a.k.a. Hoot) says

      June 9, 2014 at 3:19 pm

      Dani, thanks for the comments and we will add her to the list. Thanks for the help.

      Reply
  2. Jeremy West says

    June 9, 2014 at 3:27 pm

    Josephine Barton… lol lmfao

    Dorothy Schuler http://www.bodegaspasorobles.com

    Reply
    • Matt (a.k.a. Hoot) says

      June 9, 2014 at 4:56 pm

      Jeremy, 🙂 just thought of Dorothy. Thanks bud. As for Josephine, just had to see if anyone would catch that. 🙂 LOL

      Reply
  3. Mitch Bakich says

    June 9, 2014 at 3:32 pm

    When did Riley start making the wines at Law Estates? I thought Scott Hawley of Torrin was making the Law Estate Wines?

    Reply
    • Matt (a.k.a. Hoot) says

      June 9, 2014 at 4:57 pm

      Mitch, was going off info given. I will triple check that one. Thanks brother.

      Reply
    • Matt (a.k.a. Hoot) says

      June 9, 2014 at 5:01 pm

      Just got confirmation that Riley is indeed assistant winemaker.

      Reply
  4. jordan jarosz says

    June 9, 2014 at 3:40 pm

    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

    Reply
    • Matt (a.k.a. Hoot) says

      June 9, 2014 at 4:58 pm

      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.

      Reply
    • Matt (a.k.a. Hoot) says

      June 9, 2014 at 5:01 pm

      Just got confirmation that Riley is indeed the assistant winemaker.

      Reply
  5. Mama Hug says

    June 9, 2014 at 3:45 pm

    Thank you Comadre. Thoroughly enjoyed reading. Long overdue.

    Reply
    • Matt (a.k.a. Hoot) says

      June 9, 2014 at 4:59 pm

      Thanks, Mama Hug! 🙂 It’s an interesting topic and I’d like to see more female winemakers here. I am sure it will happen.

      Reply
  6. Tess Ramirez says

    June 9, 2014 at 4:36 pm

    I thought Addie Pitts made wine at Law? haha Oh, I think I heard Niner hired Amy Freeman.

    Reply
    • Matt (a.k.a. Hoot) says

      June 9, 2014 at 5:00 pm

      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… 🙂

      Reply
  7. Samantha C Taylor says

    June 9, 2014 at 6:03 pm

    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.

    Reply
    • Matt (a.k.a. Hoot) says

      June 9, 2014 at 6:13 pm

      Samantha, yes, we will add winemaker or assistant winemaker next to the names we know. You rock homie…thanks for the added info!!

      Reply
  8. Kyndal says

    June 10, 2014 at 11:00 am

    Hi Matt!

    Pati Bello at B&E Vineyard is another, as well as Joyce Murray at Bon Niche Cellars. Great post!

    Reply
    • Matt (a.k.a. Hoot) says

      June 10, 2014 at 11:19 am

      Kyndal, thank you. Are they winemakers or assistant winemakers?

      Reply
      • Kyndal says

        June 10, 2014 at 1:59 pm

        They are both winemakers. Joyce and her husband are both owner/winemakers of Bon Niche.

        Reply
        • Matt (a.k.a. Hoot) says

          June 10, 2014 at 2:07 pm

          Kyndal, thank you, you rock!! 🙂

          Reply
  9. Cyndee S says

    June 11, 2014 at 3:25 am

    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 😉

    Reply
    • Matt (a.k.a. Hoot) says

      June 11, 2014 at 8:16 am

      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?

      Reply
  10. Cyndee S says

    June 11, 2014 at 3:42 am

    Nicole Pease might have something to do with the wine at Paix Sur Terre, but it might be all Ryan…not sure 😉

    Reply
  11. Joel says

    June 11, 2014 at 11:45 am

    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

    Reply
    • Matt (a.k.a. Hoot) says

      June 11, 2014 at 12:45 pm

      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.

      Reply
  12. Cyndee S says

    June 11, 2014 at 12:10 pm

    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!

    Reply
    • Matt (a.k.a. Hoot) says

      June 11, 2014 at 12:46 pm

      Cyndee, this is why I had to crowd course the info…impossible to get it all by myself. 🙂

      Reply
    • Matt (a.k.a. Hoot) says

      June 11, 2014 at 12:49 pm

      I meant “crowd source”.

      Reply
  13. Christopher says

    June 11, 2014 at 4:14 pm

    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.

    Reply
    • Matt (a.k.a. Hoot) says

      June 11, 2014 at 5:48 pm

      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.

      Reply
  14. Phil Burton says

    June 17, 2014 at 4:07 pm

    How about Pam Locke at Ecluse. She’s owner/winemaker along with her husband Steve.

    Reply
    • Matt (a.k.a. Hoot) says

      June 17, 2014 at 4:18 pm

      Phil, I did not know that…thanks for the info!! 🙂

      Reply
  15. Erich Russell says

    June 17, 2014 at 4:46 pm

    Joanne Russell winemaker for Russell Family Vineyards a small 1500 case high end winery

    Reply
    • Matt (a.k.a. Hoot) says

      June 17, 2014 at 4:55 pm

      Erich, in Paso Robles? Not heard of them. I will have to check them out.

      Reply
  16. Maggie T. says

    June 21, 2014 at 1:30 pm

    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!

    Reply
    • Matt (a.k.a. Hoot) says

      June 22, 2014 at 9:56 am

      Thanks Maggie!! We will correct your part. I agree with you though, doesn’t matter who makes the wine! 🙂

      Reply
  17. Miesha L. says

    June 28, 2014 at 8:51 am

    Hopefully soon female winemakers will just be called winemakers. Great article!

    Reply
    • Matt (a.k.a. Hoot) says

      June 28, 2014 at 10:06 am

      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.

      Reply

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