10 women making their mark on the Sonoma, Napa county wine industry

Breaking through the glass ceiling of improbable, 10 women make our curated list of the most daring among the Who’s Who in the wine industry.

With a nod to Women’s History Month, we call attention to their bold move and how their indomitable spirit played a role in guiding them down a path less traveled.

These women stand behind high quality brands that have been vetted in Press Democrat blind tastings. For easy access you’ll find these compelling women under their brands, which are listed in alphabetical order.

Alma de Cattleya

Who: Vintner and winemaker Bibiana González Rave of the Alma de Cattleya in Rohnert Park

Bold move: González Rave grew up in Medellin, Colombia, during the 1990s amid the daily devastation of the drug cartel, attacks, bombings and kidnappings. She lost one of her closest friends in a car bombing in 2000. But her interest in wine at 14 took her from Columbia to study in France before ultimately landing in California. She founded her own brand — Alma de Cattleya – in 2014. (Cattleya is the Spanish word for orchids), She and her brand continue to thrive, with her sauvignon blanc bottling ranked No. 28 on the Wine Spectator’s Top 100 List for 2023. (almadecattleya.com)

González Rave: “For me, making wine is a transformational process, just like art or music. Each year, you get to transform a fruit, in this case grapes, into wine, then bottle it with a cork and preserve it for decades. Isn’t that something remarkable?”

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Benovia Winery

Who: Mary Dewane, co-vintner of Santa Rosa’s Benovia Winery

Bold move: Some people retire while others like Dewane see mid-life as a steppingstone to a second career. The CEO of health plan CalOptima, one of the largest Medicaid managed-care organizations in the country, ultimately decided to make a go of it in the wine industry. But before she set eyes on Cohn Vineyard west of Healdsburg, she never imagined becoming a co-vintner. Now she regards the old-vine vineyard as her North Star. Two years after moving to the property in 2003, Dewane and her husband Joe Anderson learned Cecil DeLoach, founder of DeLoach Vineyards, had a property to sell. They bought the Hartman Lane Vineyards property in the Russian River Valley and set out to create their Benovia brand. (benoviawinery.com)

Dewane: “After growing up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin, making a home on the vineyard property was like coming home.”

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Bubble Bar

Who: Sarah Quider, owner of Healdsburg’s Bubble Bar

Bold move: After being a winemaker for 28 years, Quider said creating the Bubble Bar “is not just a new chapter in her life, it’s a new book.” Formerly the senior vice president of winemaking for Foley Family Wines, Quider oversaw about 13 winemakers spanning the geographic reach of Washington state to the Central Coast. Working 12 hours a day during harvest, Quider said she reserved an additional hour to work on this side business. (healdsburgbubblebar.com)

Quider: “Most people are afraid to make this kind of a commitment – like I’m leaping, right? I knew it was going to be work, but I did it,” she said. “And I hope I inspire somebody to look at an opportunity and say why not?”

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Gary Farrell Vineyards & Winery

Who: Winemaker Theresa Heredia

Bold move: Heredia is openly gay and is a strong spokesperson for making Wine Country more inclusive. In fact, the winemaker was named “Innovator of the Year” by the Sonoma County Vintners trade association in 2023, in part for her efforts to grow diversity, equality and inclusion in the wine industry. Serendipity, Heredia said, played a role in helping her find her way into the wine world. It was only when she met students from the enology department at UC Davis that she had this epiphany –– “Wine, peptides? It's all chemistry, but how much more fun is wine?” Today the winemaker continues to speak out and she’s encouraged by the acceptance of those who have felt marginalized in the past, including same-sex couples in Sonoma County.

Heredia: “In terms of supporting us. I can't think of a single winery in Sonoma County who wouldn't support us.”

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Marimar Estate Vineyards & Winery

Who: Vintner Marimar Torres

Bold move: Torres’ family has been growing grapes in Spain since the 17th century, and the business — Familia Torres — has been handed down from father to son since 1870. When Torres was 29 she started to dream about having a vineyard and later about having a winery. She convinced her family to back her in creating a winery in California. In America, she said, she knew she wouldn’t be stymied by tradition. Torres planted her vineyard in 1986, studied at UC Davis in 1988 and built her winery in 1992.

Torres: “I’ve always said we have dreams because we’re supposed to make them come true.”

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Morét Brealynn

Who: Morét Brealynn Chavez, vintner and winemaker of the Morét Brealynn brand

Bold Move: Morét Brealynn Chavez worked for the city of Davis as director of the teen center. She moved to Sonoma County in 2011 to pursue that career path. But she said she quickly became a tourist in her own town, going to wine tastings and learning the lingo. It didn’t take her long to change up careers. Today the winemaker who crafts her namesake brand -- Morét Brealynn – and she isn’t afraid to be daring in the wine industry.

Brealynn Chavez: “Quite honestly, I don’t know if being Mexican, a woman or a millennial is what makes it more unique for me. I’m aware there are barriers, but I’m not going anywhere, and I’m inspired to use my voice.”

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Naidu Wines

Who: Raghni Naidu, vintner of the Naidu Wines in Sebastopol

Bold move: Raghni Naidu, an Indian vintner who grew up in Punjab, India, was determined to create her own path. Her dream, influenced by a memorable road trip from Monaco to Spain, was to establish her own wine country setting in Northern California. In 2018, she stumbled upon a 4-acre pinot noir vineyard in Sebastopol that piqued her interest. It was owned by a second-generation Italian American couple who had planted and farmed it for over 30 years, and she bought it. Hiring Matt Duffy to be her winemaker, she launched her namesake brand, Naidu Wines, in 2020 despite the challenges the pandemic presented. Today, Naidu has upped the ante, showcasing the vineyard with outdoor tastings by appointment. (naiduwines.com)

Naidu: “There’s a certain type of person that’s expected to own a wine brand or a vineyard and immigrant women aren’t the first ones to come to mind. I’ve been in situations where I’ve been questioned. But part of the onus is on me to educate people. I’m part of this picture. I belong here.”

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ra ra Wine Co.

Who: Kara Groom, vintner and winemaker of Healdsburg’s ra ra Wine Co., her side project. Her full-time position is tasting room manager at Healdsburg’s Saini Vineyards.

Bold move: In 2014, Groom began her international globe-trotting tour, working six harvests over four years. Stints at wineries abroad included Australia’s Peter Lehmann Wines and Oxford Landing Winery, and England’s Nyetimber Winery. Circling back to Sonoma County in 2018, Groom created her brand -- ra ra Wine. Co. She leaped into the popular world of natural wine with her pét-nat enterprise. (Pét-nat is an abbreviation for “pétillant naturel,” a French term that roughly translates to “naturally sparkling.”) Today she makes a natural riesling sparkler and said each year she tries to push the envelope a little more towards natural.

Groom: “Everything I’ve learned is through experience. I like to think I’m an example for others interested in a craft they don’t have any formal training in. Just do it. Get your hands dirty and you’ll learn. It won’t always be perfect, but it will be worth it.”

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Silver Oak

Who: Angela McCrae is an apprentice at Oakville’s Silver Oak and executive director of Association of African American Vintners (AAAV).

Bold Move: In her quest to diversify the wine industry, Angela McCrae moved from Harlem to Sonoma last year. McCrae, who is Black, said she wrestled with culture shock when she arrived in Sonoma where “no one looked like me.” But when she was accepted for the apprenticeship, she decided being uncomfortable was part of the experience. (aaavintners.org, silveroak.com)

McCrae: “For me, I’ve always run toward it (being uncomfortable) because I know this is the right path for growth, development and change. If I wanted to be a leader in Wine Country, I needed to be in Wine Country.”

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Theopolis Vineyards

Who: Theodora Lee is the vintner of Theopolis Vineyards in Mendocino County’s Yorkville Highlands. Lee has also kept her day job of the senior partner and trial lawyer of Littler in San Francisco.

Bold move: The vintner’s dream of owning a vineyard took root back in the 1980s. After saving money for two decades, she bought 20 acres of sheep pasture in 2001 in Anderson Valley and began developing her vineyard. Lee said the process was intensive and it involved digging deep into the soils, clearing the land and conducting land analysis to ensure it was suitable for grape growing. The vintner took courses as part of UC Davis’ Viticulture & Enology continuing education series, including classes in small vineyard management and introduction to wine and winemaking. (theopolisvineyards.com)

Lee: “As one of the few African American women who owns her own vineyard, I hope to inspire others to become vintners. It’s important that young folks know that they, too, can pursue careers in viticulture, vineyard management and even own a vineyard and thrive in the wine industry.”

You can reach Wine Writer Peg Melnik at 707-521-5310 or peg.melnik@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @pegmelnik.