Winemaker Delia Viader

Q: How did you become involved in the wine business? A: My family started the winery when I was 12, so I basically grew up around the business. I would work at the winery in the summers and I really enjoyed it. I took my first wine course at UC Davis and loved it so I went on to receive my degree in fermentation science. Q: What were some of the hurdles, if any? A: When I first started in the business it was very male dominated and I think changing the perception that a female can make wine was a huge hurdle. I remember many times people being shocked that I was part of the winemaking process. They many times assumed I was in sales or worked in the tasting room. Q: What do you love most about your job? A: I love the combination of art and science and the dirt and glamour of the business. Everything all rolled into one. Plus, I love creating a product that brings so many people closer together--families and friends. It is a "happy" industry. Q: What advice do you have for someone who wants to do what you do? A: My advice to someone who would like to get into winemaking is start from the ground up at a winery. Learn all of the processes and get as much exposure to all areas of the business. As valuable as my education was, there is nothing like old fashioned experience. Q: How are women changing the wine industry? A: Just by the sheer fact that we are becoming more and more a part of the industry. We are finding more women employed in the wineries and vineyards and more women are making up more of the consumer base. It just adds another dimension to the industry. Q: What are some of the misconceptions about women and wine? A: A big misconception is that women are better tasters than men or have heightened senses. I believe that we have a different approach to evaluating/tasting wine and nothing more. Another misconception is that women only buy wine based on the label. However, I think everyone falls prey to that one way or another. Q: Which of your own wines is your favorite and which wines do you generally prefer? A: My favorite wine is probably the DIONYSUS, Meritage--a blend of the Bordeaux varietals. I love creating this wine because it is all about blending. This is where the "art" comes into the picture, plus I love to drink it. One of my favorite varietals is Pinot Noir. Although Arbor Crest does not produce pinot noir, you'll find me drinking French Burgundys and Oregon Pinots! Arbor Crest Winer Cellars, 4705 N. Fruit Hill Road, Spokane, Wash. 99217, 509/927-9463, arborcrest.com.

Q: How did you become involved in the wine business? A: I love this story because our Chardonnay vineyard started as beautiful landscaping of a large area at the entrance of our house in the Santa Cruz Mountains. We knew that great wine has been made from vineyards close by for over 100 years. One thing led to another and now we have landscaping we can drink. Q: What were some of the hurdles? A: Just being more educated. When you invest in anything--gardening, landscaping, grapes or whatever--you want to educate yourself and see if your resources are well spent and interesting. We've found our vineyards to be a lot more fun than just having an apple orchard because after you tell people you grow Chardonnay grapes, they have a lot more questions and interest. So we really just slowly started educating ourselves on what this was all about and how we could grow the best grapes possible on our property and still make it look beautiful. Q: What do you love most about your job? A: I like drinking our wine (laughs). I enjoy just tasting the variety of all the wines that are out there and now being able to appreciate them more. We certainly like California wine, but enjoy learning about wine made in other states and other countries. Q: What advice do you have for someone who wants to do what you do? A: Educate yourself first--talk to a lot of people who have gone through it with similar sized vineyards and just pick their brain as to what's involved. If you want to make it into a business, you must get deeper into asking advice before the first steps. It's not as easy or romantic as it may appear. Q: How are women changing the wine industry? A: I think we are leading new marketing approaches to the wine business and making great wine too. Seeing the big picture of what we can do other than just putting our name on the bottle. Women are using their wineries to help with charitable causes too. Q: What are some of the misconceptions about women and wine? A: That we don't get our hands dirty! That we just sit back and take the pretty pictures of holding the glass, but women in wine do get their hands dirty and their feet as well! But it's fun being a farmer, and helping craft excellent wine is like a major and ever-changing cooking project. Q: Which of your own wines is your favorite and which wines do you generally prefer? A: Well it depends on my mood! You can have all different wines with so many different foods these days. It's like picking your favorite child--we're very proud of all of our wines. We are proud of our brand and image and do a lot of work to keep things right. Fleming Jenkins Vineyards & Winery, located at the Historic Novitiate Winery, 300-A College Avenue Los Gatos, Calif. 95030, 408/358-4949,flemingjenkinswinery.com.

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