The Top Female Winemakers in Italy, Spain, and California

5. Dominga Cotarella
Deputy Director, Falesco (Montecchio, Italy)

Wine to try: 2012 Falesco Montiano, $51

The daughter and niece (respectively) of wine legends Riccardo and Renzo Cotarella, Dominga manages the business side of Falesco wines—and as she told an Italian newspaper, “the problem of being the second generation is that you must continue proving your value.” She links her success in part to her stubbornness, and was profiled in Italian Vanity Fair under the headline Genio in Bottiglia—"genie in a bottle."

"I believe the most fundamentally important thing for working in the wine world—whatever the personal challenge is—is to be credible. Know what you want to accomplish and know your stuff. The results will follow."

6. Erin Miller
Winemaker, Twomey Cellars/Silver Oak (Napa & Sonoma Valleys, California)

Wine to try: 2014 Twomey Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, $43

As Erin Miller was preparing to go into the Peace Corps, she took a detour that would change her life. “I was on my way to Niger, West Africa, and I wanted to work down some of my student loan debt before becoming a volunteer for two and a half years. I heard about a harvest job in Napa, and I thought, 'What better way to earn a little money than by working 12 hours a day, six days a week as a harvest cellar rat?'" But in working that harvest job Erin discovered “the sheer joy of winemaking,” and when she returned from Africa, she pieced together her love of agriculture, the outdoors and winemaking, and determined to make her career in wine.

"The good news is that winemaking is about grit and collaboration, so the women who’ve trail-blazed in this industry, by definition, are the type to make sure the road is easier for the next generation. Now it’s my job to make incredible wine and be a mentor to the next generation."

7. Gina Gallo
Winemaker, Gallo Signature (Northern California)

Wine to try: Gallo Signature Series 2012 Chardonnay, $33

If you thought the Gallo name just meant ultra-affordable, large-format bottles, you'll be very pleasantly surprised by Gina's work producing Gallo's Signature Series. One of eight siblings in the third generation of a historic wine-making dynasty, Gina started her path to winemaking early, tending the family gardens at age 10. She now cultivates specific areas in the family's best vineyards to create and curate limited runs of select varietals under the Gallo Signature Series label.

"I have been very fortunate to have always had strong women in our family, and strong men who have always been supportive and proactive about having women join our family winery," says Gallo. "As with any field, women in the wine world often have to forge new paths and push through conventional boundaries. When I started in winemaking, I was one of only a handful of female winemakers in the wine world. In my beginnings here at the family winery, I worked with only one other woman winemaker, named Heidi DiSalvo, who was strong and competent. At the time, I didn’t realize the impact she had on me, but reflecting back today, I recognize she was my first woman winemaking mentor. I’m inspired by the community that has now been developed to support and nurture women in wine. I applaud this generation of women for pursuing their passions whole-heartedly."