This biography is shared with permission from Master Sommelier Tim Gaiser, author of Message in the Bottle: A Guide to Tasting Wine. The content is based on a presentation by Ron Merlino, entitled “Prohibition, Suffrage, and Early Women Winemakers in 19th and 20th Century America.”
Born: Unknown, United States (assumed)
Died: Unknown
Country most active: United States
Also known as: Catherine Overton
Eliza Shaw Hood, Ellen Stuart, and Kate Warfield all hailed from Glen Ellen. All three lived and worked near one another, and all three took over the wineries owned by their respective husbands in the late 1870s and early 1880s.
Kate Warfield was known as the “lady vineyardist” in her time. Her husband Jacob Warfield came to California from Ohio in 1849 and built a successful trading business in Gold Country. When Charles and Ellen Stuart sold him part of their estate in 1862, Jacob named the winery Ten Oaks and planted 16 acres of Mission vines. After his after his death in 1878, Kate took over the vineyard and winery operation. She hired a French winemaker and grafted the Mission vines over to other European varieties
In 1883 Kate entered her brandy in the California State Fair contest and won top prize. However, the result was contested by an all-male judging panel who believed it impossible that a woman could make a better brandy than a man. A second testing was held on the spot and yielded identical results.
In 1886 Warfield was awarded top marks for her Cabernet, Syrah, and Sauvignon Blanc at the San Francisco Mechanics Fair Tasting, the preeminent California wine event at the time. She also became widely known as an advocate for phylloxera-resistant root stocks and was considered the most talented vine grower in California in her time.
The success of these three women is remarkable. However, there’s more to their story. Together, they brought a legal petition to the Sonoma County Superior Court in the early 1880s. In the petition they argued for the right to operate their wineries as “sole traders,” a legal designation necessary to run a commercial business in the state of California. At the time, the sole trader status was rarely granted to women. However, by sheer force of will, courage, and intellect they won their case and gained the right to operate as female proprietors of their estates.
While it’s far from a thrilling plot line, this singular achievement set the stage for women in the industry who would follow in the coming decades. The Sonoma Trio were not only true pioneers for women’s rights, they also paved the way for women winemakers in America.