More women pursuing careers in winemaking

Merry Edwards learned about the nuances different clones of a grape could impart in France. She returned to Sonoma County and advocated for clonal diversity.

In France, Merry Edwards learned about the nuances different clones of a grape could impart. She returned to Sonoma County and advocated for clonal diversity.

When winemaker Merry Edwards was a student at UC Davis in the 1970s, there were no women professors, she said, according to a Reuters feature about her career. After graduation, Edwards faced gender discrimination when looking for her first job.

But times have changed, Reuters reported. David Block, the head of the university's viticulture and enology department, said about 60 percent of their graduate students this year are women.

Edwards now has her own winery in Sonoma County's Russian River Valley and her own clone.

"Its formal name is UCD clone 37, but everyone around here calls it Merry's clone. And right now we're surrounded by it," she said, pointing to the acres of vineyards just outside the winery window.

Posted on Tuesday, October 25, 2011 at 9:20 AM

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