Celebrate Your Holidays with Best Female Winemakers in Napa Valley CA [Updated - 2022]

Women and winemaking in Napa Valley began with a storied past when in 1882, Hannah Weinberger unexpectedly became proprietor and winemaker of J.C. Weinberger Winery.

But in 1965, when Mary Ann Graf became the first female to receive an enology degree from UC Davis, she earned her place as the first woman winemaker of the modern era. During the next couple of decades, an esteemed list of women winemaking pioneers.

Limo Tour San Francisco proud to present some of Napa Valley’s current day distinguished women winemakers. The list includes some of Napa’s early pioneers and some exciting newcomers. While women have made significant progress in this field since Hannah Weinberger carved out her place in history almost 140 years ago.

RENÉE ARY

Can impaired vision make for a better winemaker? In Renee Ary’s case, it is decidedly so. Ary, vice president of Napa Valley winemaking for Duckhorn Wine Company, and winemaker for Duckhorn Vineyards, started wearing glasses at age six.

A few years later, in 2003, she joined the Duckhorn Vineyards team as the Lab Manager and after 22 years in the industry, Ary’s attention to detail and love of a good challenge are what set her apart.

The secret to making great wine is a combination of timing, being present, and paying attention to the many little details.”

LAURA BARRETT

A Boston native, Laura Barrett grew up in a family that drank two-for-ten (said with a thick Boston accent); aka two bottles for $10. She studied science in college and specifically became interested in fermentation science, desiring to understand how wine was made.

“Wine life was fun, challenging, interesting, and pulled all the pieces together for me.”

In 2014 she started working at Clif Family and their vineyards and farm are both CCOF certified organic. Her secret to a great wine is balance, which begets elegance. “White wine, red wine, big wine, light wine"—they all need a balance of acid, tannin, alcohol, and fruit to be great.” Barrett loves the seasonality of the wine business.

CATHY CORISON

She was studying biology at Pomona College when she fell in love with wine for all the usual reasons but there was another layer, “Wine is infinitely fascinating as a product of a series of living systems. "Wine is alive.”

After graduation in June 1975, she arrived in the Napa Valley. After earning her master’s degree in 1978, she interned at Freemark Abbey Winery. The wine industry expanded explosively, so there was so much opportunity for young enologists.” She became winemaker at Yverdon Spring Mountain and ultimately founding Corison Winery in 1987.

“I love growing grapes and making wine; I learn something new every day.”

ANA DIOGO-DRAPER

Born and raised in Portugal, Ana Diogo-Draper moved to California to pursue her winemaking dreams after studying at the University of Évora with Paulo Laureano, one of the biggest names in Portuguese winemaking.

she finds harvest to be both the most rewarding and the most challenging time of the year and starting in early August with sparkling, jumping straight into Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and then all the ‘Big Reds.

For Diogo-Draper, great wine is a “wine with a sense of place, verve, and authenticity”.

SARA FOWLER

Sara Fowler joined PEJU in 2006 and, ever since, has supervised the farming of the winery’s six estate vineyards throughout Napa Valley. She successfully transitioned the PEJU Rutherford estate vineyard to their organic certification, raised on a 400-acre organic ranch.

I love the creative aspect of winemaking, being able to shepherd/coax grapes into a delightful glass of wine that may be enjoyed with family, friends, and food.

“This gives me a great sense of pride.”

MEGAN GUNDERSON

Megan Gunderson’s wine moment took place upon college graduation when she began searching and applying for positions within the wine industry.

In 2005, she was hired as an enologist with HALL Family Wines. Then she was promoted to vice president of winemaking.

I started researching the science behind winemaking; it’s so complex. Winemaking seemed like a great way to turn my chemistry passion into a fun and challenging career. She believes in great vineyard sites, minimal intervention, and allowing her wines to express the terroir.

SHARON KAZAN HARRIS

Sharon Kazan Harris remembers the exact moment she knew she wanted to be a winemaker. “It was November 1983,” said the owner and director of winemaking for RARECAT Wines and one of Worth Magazine’s "29 Most Groundbreaking Women Changing the World".

In 2008, while promoting RARECAT, Harris’ greatest passion has been empowering women, promoting diversity, and forging meaningful connections. “I have used wine as a tool to bring together thousands of executives to connect with their stakeholders.

CHELSEA HOFF

Similar to the wines she crafts, Chelsea Hoff’s winemaking style is globally influenced. Hers is a culmination of "old-world winemaking practices" paired with the "creative drive discovered in new-world wines".

In 2019, Fearless Wines features the distinctive, lesser-known grape varietals that Hoff discovered abroad, like Chenin Blanc and Grenache. These unique and crafted into a Blanc, Rouge, and Rosé, have garnered a strong following of consumers eager to try something new.

I started with a goal "to do things differently". I believe if you are passionate about something, you will be successful.

KIMBERLEE NICHOLLS & ABIGAIL HORSTMAN

Markham’s winemaker Kimberlee Nicholls and assistant winemaker Abigail Horstman connected over their love of science and cooking and a shared intuition that continues to guide their winemaking.

Their secret to a great wine is spotlighting the vineyard, something for which "Markham" prides itself. To make excellent, high quality, food-friendly wines, you need great grapes; the duo is currently working together on the vintage 2019 blend of The Character, Markham’s icon wine.

We craft this Bordeaux-inspired Red Blend in the “Right Bank” style, where Merlot takes center stage in a beautifully balanced profile, allowing all five Bordeaux varietals to harmonize together in the best wine from our cellar every vintage.

Final Thoughts:

We strive to offer a wide variety of "luxury Napa transportation services" to the wine lovers of the above mentioned beautiful, incredible female winemaker’s vineyards and to make their clients wine tours more memorable in a luxury limousine.

As a San Francisco-based limousine company that provides high-quality Napa valley limousine transportation throughout the Bay Area, Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley.

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