Milla Handley, pioneering Anderson Valley winemaker, dies at 68 from complications of COVID-19

Milla Handley, a pioneering female winemaker who founded Handley Cellars in Mendocino County’s Anderson Valley, died on July 25 from complications due to COVID-19.

Handley was 68.

She graduated from UC Davis in 1975 as one the first female graduates with a degree in fermentation science. Seven years later, she became the first female winemaker in the United States to start and own a winery under her own name.

“My mother was someone who fearlessly walked her own path,” Lulu McClellan, Handley’s daughter and the winery’s president, said in a statement. “She was passionate about making wine and working for herself, and never thought of herself as unusual or brave for pursuing these things at a time when it was rare to see women in these roles.”

Handley began in the wine business by working with legendary vintners such as Richard Arrowood at Chateau St. Jean in the Sonoma Valley and later Jed Steele at Edmeades Winery in Geyserville. In 1982, she branched out and founded Handley Cellars in the then little-known Anderson Valley wine region.

“We think Anderson Valley is tough now, but when she came here, whew. You had to be very committed to being here,” said Randy Schock, the winery’s longtime co-winemaker who took over responsibilities when Handley retired in June 2017.

Handley made the move to Mendocino County with her husband, Rex Scott McClellan, as they believed the bucolic spot near the coast was a perfect place to raise their children. McClellan died in 2006.

The region also suited her winemaking skills. Handley was known for a light touch, and focused on lesser-known varietals that grew well in the area such as gewurztraminer and pinot gris.

“How many people are going to find a passion for gewurztraminer at the time and pinot gris and these other varietals?” Schock said.

While the Anderson Valley became known as one of the best areas to produce pinot noir in the United States, Handley continued to remain an evangelist for its white wines as well. She was active in the Anderson Valley Winegrowers Association and played an important role in starting the Alsace Festival, now called the Winter White Wine Festival, which highlights the various white wine varietals grown in the region.

Handley Cellars later became recognized for the organically grown grapes on its estate vineyards, where it farmed such varieties as pinot noir, chardonnay and gewurztraminer. In 2005, the winery’s Handley Estate Vineyard became the first California Certified Organic Farmers vineyard in Anderson Valley. Today, it has about 35 acres of estate vineyards.

“It’s not chemistry over nature. It’s nature that drives everything,” Schock said.

Growing up in Los Altos, Handley had a love of animals, especially horses. In fact, she attended UC Davis because she could bring her horse to school. She studied veterinary science in college but later switched to enology after realizing that she didn’t like to dissect animals.

That love of animals carried over to farming. One time she discovered bears were invading her vineyard, taking the fruit and damaging vines at night. When she realized the bear trap installed on the property would result in the animal’s death, she decided to remove it.

“She said, ’I’d rather have less grapes in this vintage than tell the story about this is the year we killed the bear,’” Schock said. “Grapes are important ... but not so much she loses sight of being a mother and this animal lover.“

In addition to her daughter, Lulu, Handley is survived by another daughter, Megan Handley Warren; her sister, Julie Handley; and son-in-law Scott Peterson. A memorial service will be held at a later date.

You can reach Staff Writer Bill Swindell at 707-521-5223 or bill.swindell@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @BillSwindell