Thumbs up: Sonoma County’s hall of famer

Thumbs up to Helen M. Turley, a Sonoma County vintner and winemaker who on Tuesday was inducted into the California Hall of Fame. Turley, an East Coast transplant, was one of California's first female winemakers and for much of her career has been one of its busiest consulting winemakers. She and her husband, John Wetlaufer, also founded Marcassin Vineyards in the early 1990s. They were among the first to plant grapes on the Sonoma Coast, an area that had been widely considered too cold to produce high-quality wine. Their pinot noir and chardonnay grapes are considered some of the best in the region, and the Sonoma Coast is now an officially recognized wine-growing region.

Turley, a resident of Windsor, was selected by Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife, Jennifer Seibel Newsom, as part of the 13th class of the California Hall of Fame. Some of the other new members include the late poet Maya Angelou, civil rights leader James Lawson, soccer star Brandi Chastain and restaurateur Wolfgang Puck. Turley is the second honoree with ties to Sonoma County. She joins Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz, who was posthumously inducted in 2014.

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