Wine Tributaries
by Tim Hayes & John Koetzner

     Kristi Koford, winemaker at Alderbrook Winery since July 1997, got part of her training at Robert Mondavi Winery originally under the tutelage of Zelma Long. However, she was not intending to go into the wine business when she was a student at UC Santa Cruz.

     "I studied biology and intended to be a kind of Jane Goodall, studying wild animals in their native habitat. I ended up a microbiologist at Mondavi in 1974 and stayed until 1984."

      "Then, I took four years off when I had my son and we built a house. I went to St.Supery, across the street from Mondavi, as an assistant winemaker for nine years. Alderbrook offered a great opportunity in summer of 1997."

     Walking around the cellar, Koford pointed to one of the innovations she has added to the Alderbrook winemaking repertoire. "We have these open-top fermentors and what they allow us to do is make wine in an ancient tradition. Using modern refrigeration, we are able to maintain any fermentation temperature we want. What we’re really doing is using modern technology to recreate ancient procedures and techniques."

     Out by the crush pad, she shows off two new presses that have also been added at the winery, noting that it will add a new dimension to the wine production. She smiles, saying, "At Mondavi I was on the technical end, at St. Supery I was much more involved in management of resources, and I left there to put them all together. This [Alderbrook] is where I found to do that. The added bonus is that I’m also able to work with Zinfandel and Pinot Noir which are my favorite wines to drink, and the grapes are better here in Sonoma County."

     Statistics have shown that women purchase 70% of the wine sold in the United States, so it is only natural that they should now have more influence on how wines are made. Another woman leaving her mark locally is Shelly Rafanelli at A. Rafanelli Winery. Like Koford, she did not really intend to go into winemaking.

     "I always planned to go into the wine business, but I had planned to work for a bigger winery doing marketing. My degree from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, is in agricultural business with a marketing concentration.

     "My parents, especially my dad, never pressured us to go into the family business. When I went away to school, he said, ‘You choose what you want to do. The option is yours.’ I graduated in 1996 and decided to come back a month or so later.

     "Since we didn’t have a marketing department, it only made sense that I get involved in the production part. I had my hands in the production part growing up, and I took some classes at Cal Poly. So now I’m learning more of that from my dad."

     Even though she is learning from her father, Shelly has had some subtle but significant influence on the winemaking at the winery. "I took some winemaking classes at UC Davis and I attended some seminars at Vinquiry. It’s the more technical aspects that I try to stay up on.

     "We’re not really changing that much, but we’re adding more types of cooperage and we also added lab equipment. Vinquiry taught me to run some tests and my dad got the equipment. It’s more efficient at crush time."

     Now that she has been involved in the production part steadily for several years, Rafanelli is a bit more reflective about her role and what it means to her. She also continues to hone her winemaking skills. "Actually, I enjoy production a little more than marketing. It’s more rewarding. You make something and you see it from start to finish."

     Wine has been associated with a romantic aura throughout the ages and the influence of women to that romantic end is far more prevalent than that of their male counterparts. In any case, our laurel leaves are off to Pericles who recognized and encouraged women’s unique and important role in creating an equal opportunity for all.

© 1999 by Tim Hayes & John Koetzner. All Rights Reserved. Wine Tributaries is hosted by Wines on the Internet.