Ojai Mountain bud break
“Sulphur Mountain sits 3,000 feet above Ventura County, looming directly above the Ojai Valley Inn. Not quite as tall as the Topa Topas to the north, where exposed shale glows white during the day and reflects the sunset for the famous “Pink Moment,” but tall enough to offer a magical and awe-inspiring view of the Pacific Ocean, the Channel Islands and the growing world of women working in wine.” So begins my VC Reporter article about five Ventura County women working in wine which came out Thursday, March 20, please check it out! For the past six weeks, I’ve been researching, interviewing, photographing, writing, and tasting the wines of winemaker Natalie Albertson of Wildflower Winery, now Native Bloom Winery; Olga Chernov, owner and grower at Ojai Mountain Estate; Gretel Compton, grower and winemaker Clos des Amis and South Mountain Winery; Sheila Donohue owner and importer at Verovino, and Alexis Wade, owner of Buddy’s Wine Bar.
wines from VC women in wine
I had far more photos and words than the VC Reporter had room which means I will be sharing more here during March’s Women’s History month and possibly next month too — as these organic wines from Ventura County women are perfect to celebrate Earth Month.
Natalie Albertson with her new logo in her Ventura tasting room
Natalie Albertson
was Wildflower Winery, now Native Bloom Winery, Ventura
We visited Natalie last year at her Ventura winery which you can read here. Because of a copywriter infringement, she recently changed the name from Wildflower Winery to Native Bloom Winery. She’s gearing up to bottle in April and the new labels will feature the new name and logo. We’re excited to sample the new releases with the new labels! Website: Wildflower Winery.
Olga Chernov checks out bud break March 2025 Ojai Mountain
Olga Chernov
owner and grower at Ojai Mountain Estate, Ojai
Olga Chernov wanted her two sons to live more intimately connected with nature— to tend to animals, to ride horses, to appreciate nature. About 10 years ago, she fell in love with a remote property 3,000′ above the ocean, and thirty minutes from the closest grocery store. There she decided to plant wine grape vines, and to tend them organically in keeping with her philosophy to obtain the highest quality, and to take care of the planet. She planned to sell the grapes but when a winemaker she admires, Sonoma’s Erich Bradley, was willing to come onboard and make the wine, she switched gears with Ojai Mountain Estate the result. We wrote about Ojai Mountain’s about to be released 2022 Syrah here, and you find more of her story. Website: Ojai Mountain Estate
Gretel Compton at the outdoor tasting table in the avocado orchard, South Mountain Winery
Gretel Compton
grower and winemaker Clos des Amis and South Mountain Winery, Santa Paula
Sue Hill and I first visited the South Mountain Winery to taste Clos des Amis wines and interview winemaker Bruce Freeman in Fall 2017. In January 2019, I started going out there regularly to learn about pruning, planting, picking, blending, bottling, and more! Each month I would write about what I did and what I learned; find a list of articles here. In December 2024, I helped organize a visit to Clos des Amis with two other regional wine writers, and I snapped this photo of Gretel pouring barrel samples at the tasting table for us. Sheila Donohue distributes their wines nationally, and in Ventura County, Gretel pours their wines at the Ventura Farmers Market on Saturday mornings and in Thousand Oaks on Thursday afternoons. Website: Clos des Amis
Sheila Donohue and Wine Predator at a Mardi Gras party Sheila hosted where she plans to have a tasting room for the wines she imports
Sheila Donohue
owner and importer at Verovino, Ventura
Seven years ago Sheila Donohue moved her new wine and food import business Verovinogusto to Ventura. I met her in February 2019 when we were both taking the difficult Italian Wine Ambassador course in Los Angeles. In November 2023, Sheila bought a Craftsman with a Quonset hut where she hopes to offer tastings of her natural wines and organic olive oils. Read more about Sheila’s journey into wine here in “Dreaming Impossible Dreams”. We have often written about the wines she imports because they are well made from interesting and unusual grapes grown organically and made with minimal intervention. Here was the first time we tasted wines imported by Sheila for a Women’s History Month article where we featured wines from Tuscany’s biodynamic Antonella Manuli.
Alexis Wade owner of Buddy’s Wine bar
Alexis Wade
owner of Buddy’s Wine Bar, Ventura
Buddy’s Wine Bar features natural wines, and is located just a few blocks from my house! You’ll find me there on Thursdays for their special flights (pictured above), from 3-6p for Happy Hour where their wonderful orange box wine is only $10 a glass, and on Saturdays all day her Happy Hour has lots of different wines for $10 a glass! That lovely cheese board is $19 and while it’s not designed to pair with one wine or other, it is very wine friendly! Website: Buddy’s Wine Bar
Gwendolyn Alley gives a bottle of Clos des Amis Sangiovese a kiss.
Please vote for me in this year’s Wine Travel Awards!
You have less than two weeks to vote! Voting ends March 31 so please vote now!
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What are the Wine Travel Awards and why should you vote for me?
Hope this answers your questions!
Briefly, the Wine Travel Awards provide “a unified advertising and information campaign in different countries to draw attention to the nominees: people, regions, wines and local products” with the goal to form “a friendly community of wine & wine tourism professionals created to share opinions, knowledge, and information.” And so yes YOU can vote for ME! After the March public voting period ends, “five nominees with the highest amount of public votes in each category will be forwarded to the WTA Jury Panel, who will have an honourable mission to choose the best of the best.”
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wine predator.............. gwendolyn alley 