People ask me all the time who is my favorite woman winemaker. I don’t consider the question sexist. I think it is just a fun question, similar to who are the better winemakers, graduates from Fresno State or Davis. I like competition. I don’t really care if it is men against men, or women against women, men against women, or Fresno State versus Davis. There has always been a debate whether women are better winemakers because they have been more keenly aware of scents all their lives. Chefs I know have this same secret argument internally as well. So, I am going to answer the question.

The women winemakers I have selected are probably not names you are familiar with. I name them with a carefree spirit. Still, the hairs on the back of my neck are rising in warning. Be wary! Will these women be happy to be named? Or, will they be unhappy that I neglected to name them. I have no idea how they will react.

I can remember clearly the exact moment I learned that women can react far differently than I expect. I had just turned 12. Our friends owned a hotel, the Pierpont Inn on Ventura Beach. My right foot was in a cast. Unable to swim, I amused myself by hobbling down to the beach, where I spent the day sunbathing and making sand sculptures and paintings. Drawing horses was my specialty.

I decided to build the world’s greatest sandcastle. I was finishing the last wall when something caught my attention. Just behind me, a young, red headed girl was furiously working on a castle wall much larger than mine. She must have been there a while, for her castle was nearly complete. She appeared to be a little younger than me. I turned back to my castle and lost myself in the digging. I did not give her another thought until, about ten minutes after finishing my castle, she came running through it in high speed. She was glowing with destructive glory. She did not say a word to me or acknowledge that I was even there. I watched her walk away, a young girl with the stride and happiness of a grown woman in full control.

“Why did you do that?” I shouted after her. “Because,” she said, “I love you”.

She never turned around. All I could do was sit and watch. She shook the sand out of her long curly red hair and green bathing suit. She never looked back. I never saw her again. But she has been with me my whole life. That very second, I knew a truth that would always haunt me. Women are strange wonderful creatures and I probably never will understand them.

I always think about her when I think of winemaker Laely Heron. Not that Laely is fond of me, or has red hair or anything. It is just that I seem to always say the wrong thing and Laely seems to always be walking away from me mad. The last time I saw her was at a wine pour in Kentucky. She was walking away from me mad.

I really admire Laely. She was one of the very first to create her own wine company with little money, tremendous tenacity, hard work and more than a little charm. She was also the first to show me by example that within the concept of quality should live value. She encouraged me when I founded Row Eleven. Most of us are just following in Laely’s footsteps.

I miss seeing Dawnine Dyer. Our business lunches included piles of onion rings, greasy fingers and several glasses of her wine at one of my favorite spots, Mustards. Dawnine was responsible for a big sparkling wine company called Domaine Chandon. She was good at what she did. Chandon was a large operation with an amazing amount of moving parts. None of it seemed to affect Dawnine. Everything just seemed to flow naturally. She was smart. But, my favorite Dawnine quality, one I wish I had, was that she never second guessed a decision.

I wonder about Judy Matulich-Weitz and her children. Judy is one of the few winemakers I have known with any kind of business sense. She knew you can’t keep making a wine for $30 and selling it for $20 and succeed. You would be very surprised to hear the names of all the winemakers, many of them famous, who have yet to figure that out. To physically get to Judy, you would have to work your way through the day care center she would create around her wherever she worked. Whether it was the Inglenook lab or her office in Buena Vista, rooms were filled to overflowing with Beanie Babies, Toy Story toys and children. Wherever Judy went, the children and toys went with her. Judy was a winemaker and a mother, in the middle of a boys' club. I wonder if those kids will grow up to be winemakers.

Those are just some of my favorites. Before there is a parade through my next castle, I would just like to mention, not that it will do me any good, Stephanie, Kim, Erin, Allsion, Jill, Zelma, Sarah and Lane as well. Kit, you are not a winemaker.

More:
I know some of you will note that Dawnine and I were not meeting at her restaurant, Domaine Chandon. Chandon had the most amazing trout salad which you can now get at Bistro Jeanty. He was chef at Chandon at that time. Dawnine, if you are out there, I would love to see you. You can even bring Bill. I’ll buy.

If you happen to be in Yountville, try Bistro Jeanty’s community table. You never know who might be eating there. Try the trout salad or the steak frites. But, I have a soft spot for Mustards. I have lots of Mustard’s memories. There is the married politician from a very important city, his new sports car and his beautiful young lunch date (not his daughter) who wasn’t old enough to order wine. There is Robert Mondavi near the end of his life. He was almost too frail to eat, and was too frail to get in his car. He had to be lifted. This was a sad moment for me.

But, my memories are mostly happy ones. I remember Napa’s best winemakers doing what they do best, enjoying lots of good food and wine. If you go to Mustards, try a half bottle of Row Eleven Pinot Noir and a plate of onion rings. As they say on TV, “you’ll be glad you did.”

Even More:
No one ever asks me who my favorite male winemakers are. Believe it or not I have a few. But, they are not names you would recognize. They are guys who don’t get the very best vineyards. Yet, they can take mediocre grapes and make them taste like they came from somewhere special, or make a big volume blend taste as good as a small, hand picked barrel lot. These winemakers probably appeal more to winemakers than anyone else. There are many wine people who won’t see the value in these skills. But, let us all be honest with each other. All of you who don’t want to drink wines over $20 are not drinking the world’s finest vineyards. These winemakers will make you think you did.