Every year, the country’s premier graduate Viticulture and Enology program at UC Davis graduates a class that is, on average, 60% female. Often called “The Harvard of Winemaking,” this program is supposed to provide the California wine industry with the best and brightest talent. Yet, as best as I can tell from my research, of the more than 4200 wineries in California, only somewhere between 14% and 18% have a female winemaker.
That means there’s more work to do. And some of that work involves showcasing, championing, and supporting the efforts of those women who have chosen to make winemaking their career.
Louie Seamus has been championing the under-represented side of the wine business for a long while in San Francisco as the owner of not one, but two of the city’s most iconic wine bars, back when you could count the number of San Francisco wine bars on one hand. But they got really serious about it in 2013 after launching their company The Vinguard, a non-profit organization focused on social justice in the wine industry.
Under that mission, Seamus launched an event they call WINeFare, which seeks to amplify women’s voices (and work) in the natural wine space. It’s a tasting and showcase of female producers and women-led wine companies.
The next incarnation of this tasting takes place on June 7th in San Francisco and promises to be a cornucopia of women-made natural wines. Forty-six women-owned natural wineries and importers are pouring this year from five countries:
AmByth Estate, Amy Atwood Selections, Azizam Wines, Birdhorse Wines, Cary Q Wines, Champagne Lelarge-Pugeot, Danch & Granger Selections, Domaine de la Chevalerie, Etteilla Wines, Floraison Selections, Frey Vineyards, Hobo Wine Company, J. Brix Wine, Julie & Toby Bainbridge, Kareen Wine, Laughing Gems, Legend Australian Imports, Loella Wine, Loop de Loop, Lucy Chilvers Wines, Lula, Maison des Plaisances, Maloof Wines, Margins Wine, Matthiasson Wines, Native Bloom, Nomadic Distribution, Oest Wines, Onward Wines, Osa Major Wines, Processus, Redfield Cider, Roni Selects, Ruby Blanca Wines, Six Cloves Wine, Stella Crinita, Terah Wine Co., Terra Firma Wine Imports, Tessier Winery, Thacher Winery and Vineyard, Unturned Stone Wine, Vaievem Wine, Virgo Magic Wines, Ward Four Wines, and Women Winemakers from Zev Rovine Selections.
It promises to be a delicious afternoon.
WINeFare Women in Natural Wine Festival 2025
Saturday, June 7, 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Haight Street Art Center
215 Haight Street
San Francisco, CA 94102 (map)
Tickets to the event are $63.23 (a pretty good deal, as such tastings go). A discount is available for F&B professionals, essential workers, seniors, educators, and students, and if you’re feeling generous, you can also buy a Pay-it-Forward ticket that will be given to someone who can’t afford the price. Purchase tickets online.
