Cellar Sisters

Those low numbers are a bit surprising for the winemaking team at Martin Ray Vineyards & Winery in Santa Rosa. Director of Wine-making Leslie Mead Renaud and Winemaker Raemy Paterson say they see so many women in the local winemaking workplace, they don’t really think about it as an issue anymore. The duo is in charge of three brands and nearly 30 wines, and they actually smile when the subject of male domination comes up.

“Honestly, I don’t think it’s nearly where it used to be, and I think that there are some areas where I feel like it’s 50/50,” says Renaud, 59, of the divide between men and women in the industry. “I don’t think it’s everywhere, but Sonoma County is definitely one that is becoming much more equal.”

“I know Martin Ray is definitely different than most places,“ she adds. “The winemaking team here is all women, half of our cellar staff is women and half of our bottling staff is women.”

That mix is part of what attracted Renaud to the winery “six harvests ago,” as she says, after a long career spanning notable names like Clos du Bois, Sonoma Creek Winery and Hans Fahden Vineyards and Roth Estates.

“I’ve found that it’s easier for me, personally, to work with other women,” says Renaud, who lives in Windsor. “Am I doing reverse discrimination? I hope not. We just seem to work together better as a collective, and collaborate more.”

Winery owner Courtney Benham laughs when he hears that. “It can be a true stereotype,” he says. “I’ve worked with some male winemakers in the past, and they can have huge egos. You have to be careful about what you say to them, or how you talk about their wine-making or their finished wines. But Leslie and Raemy are individually really talented, and then collectively, they make a great team. They’re completely open. That’s what makes this business fun for me.”

Paterson, 32, seems genuinely curious that sexism in the cellar could still be considered a thing. She did hear campus chatter at UC Davis that made her wonder. “Oh, you know, like, ‘It’s a boys club out there,’” she recalls. “But I did my work: two internships in France, one in Australia and several in Sonoma. I’ve been lucky to have worked with really supportive people who believe in me.”

She joined Martin Ray seven years ago, attracted to Benham’s philosophy of encouraging exploration.

“You can get as involved as you want in anything,” she says. “I really thought that was cool because I wanted to do marketing, and sales, experience it all and see what felt right. That’s harder to get at more structured places that keep you in your lane.”

The path led her to winemaking, and a project she is particularly proud of: the launch of Martin Ray’s first sparkling wine. She and Renaud started the program in 2018, and now in its third vintage, they produce about 400 cases of Russian River Valley Blanc de Blancs and Brut Rosé.

 “Totally from scratch,” she says. “We’re doing it super high end, with several years on the lees and tirage. It’s the most difficult thing I’ve ever done. We had help at first from a consultant, Keith Hock, but it’s just been an awesome opportunity to try, and be supported all the way.”

Renaud and Paterson work together on all the wines, ranging from $15-a-bottle Angeline staples, to $50 Synthesis Pinot Noir, to $95 Martin Ray Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s a mentor partnership, where Renaud tries give as much latitude as possible.

“I think it’s always important to hire people that are smarter than you are,” she quips. “The last thing I want to do is say, ‘You’re going to do it only my way.’ We don’t learn anything from that, and making mistakes is a very valuable lesson for us all.”

It helps that today’s winemaking women can look to historic role models like the late Mary Ann Graf, who was California’s first woman in the enology and viticulture program at UC Davis. At the time, she was the sole female in her classes, graduating in 1965, and named head winemaker at Healdsburg’s Simi Winery in 1973.

There’s the now-retired Zelma Long, too, the second woman in the UC Davis enology program. She was hired by Napa’s Robert Mondavi Winery to work harvest in 1970, then quickly promoted to chief enologist in 1973. Long hired the now-legendary Geneviève Janssens in 1978, and Janssens still works at Mondavi as winemaker emeritus, crafting her renowned Bordeaux-style wines.

“It’s really those women that paved the way for people like me,” Paterson says. “At Davis, I think 60% of my class were women. I’ve worked under mostly women in my career, and I feel like there are ample opportunities for us now—it’s definitely a norm.

“I’m really lucky,” she adds. “I’ve always felt supported and listened to and valued throughout my career. But I feel like now the road is paved, and now it’s up to us as the current generation to see what we can do with it.”

Martin Ray Vineyards & Winery, 2191 Laguna Road,

Santa Rosa, 707.823.2404.