{Women Winemakers of California} Women Winemakers of California is an on-going educational research program. Its main purposes are to provide accurate information and conduct relevant research about women winemakers in California and to make their accomplishments and career paths more visible.
Background and history
Winemaking is a traditionally male-dominated field, requires education in viticulture—the cultivation or culture of grapes—and enology, the science that deals with wine and winemaking. The first female graduate of UC Davis, the premiere university for winemaking in California, if not the U.S., was in 1965. The accomplishments of several women graduates of UC Davis became highly visible in the 1980s and 1990s, including those of Zelma Long, Heidi Barrett, and Helen Turley, but overall the numbers were low.
Professors Lucia and John Gilbert (Santa Clara University) developed a comprehensive list of California wineries, together with the name and sex of their lead or principal winemaker. Of the approximately 3400 wineries in California at that time, they documented that only 9.8% of the lead winemakers in California were women (Gilbert, 2011). The overall percentage in the state remained at approximately 10% in 2014, although there was preliminary evidence that some increase had occurred among newly established wineries (Gilbert & Gilbert, 2014). Thus, winemaking in California remains a male-dominated field.
Activities
Providing accurate up-to-date information about women winemakers in California
The website, www.womenwinemakers.com, provides the most comprehensive and accurate information currently available on lead women winemakers in California, the wineries for which they craft their wine, where they are located within the state, and the evolution of their careers. The website is continuously updated.
Illuminating the career paths and accomplishments of women winemakers in CA “Career Tips from leading California Women Winemakers” is a resource developed from conversation with 66 successful women winemakers. (2014 on our website) reference: [5]
“Evidence of women winemakers success in a male dominated field” (Gilbert & Gilbert, 2012) documented that despite their small numbers in the industry, the wines produced from CA wineries having lead women winemakers are more highly acclaimed, proportional to their representation in the field, than wines produced by their male counterparts.
- ^ The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Blogs On Wine. Article by Lettie Teague, "Whither Women Winemakers," noting the importance of the website and project.
- ^ Reuters, a global news agency. Article by Leslie Gevirtz, "Women winemakers still battle glass ceiling: study,"
- ^ Wines & Vines Wine Industry News Headlines. Article by Kerry Kirkham, "Women Winemakers Go Online: New website details career paths for women in the wine industry"
- ^ California Wine Examiner Headlines. Steve Ferree, "New website on Women Winemakers launches online,"
- ^ PayScale. Article by Leah Arnold-Smeets, "It's My Career and I'll 'Wine' if I Want To"
- ^ Associated Press (AP), A global news agency. Article by Michelle Locke, September 25, 2012, "Raise a Glass! Women Winemakers Winning Success"
- ^ Winebusiness.com. Today's Top Story for Tuesday, July 17, 2012: More women at acclaimed wineries.