Women Winemakers in Washington Pt1

Women Winemakers in Washington Pt1

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
With today's Fruit Grower Report, I'm Bob Larson. Women are making inroads into the male-dominated world of winemaking.

Ashley Trout, of Walla Walla's March Cellars and Vital Wines, got her start as a freshman at Whitman College when she took a part-time job as punch-down person at Reinenger Winery in 1999.

But, when she began her trek as a winemaker is a tricky question ...

ASHLEY TROUT ... "Because, I would argue that anybody that's been in a cellar punching stuff down is making it. I mean, I think anybody who is part of the process, you need all of those people to be educated in smells and tastes and sights and textures because if you don't have people catching things along the way, or if you're not catching things along the way, then you've missed a lot of opportunities to do sort of preventative medicine if you will. It's such a moving target and it will move in the wrong direction if you're not paying attention early."

A climbing accident in 2004 laid Trout up for months, which led to several trips to hone her winemaking skills in Argentina, before launching her first label ...

ASHLEY TROUT ... "I started Flying Trout in 2006, so I was 24 at the time, and sold that to TR Wines, which is Tero Estates, Waters and all those guys, in 2010. Stayed on as the winemaker until this past Spring and then left to focus on launching March and Vital full time this past Spring."

Coming soon ... more on Ashley Trout's new labels and her take on working women getting a taste for Washington's wine making industry.

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