One of the most interesting attractions at the National Harbor Food and Wine Festival this past weekend was the opportunity to meet Deborah Brenner and the taste specialty wines at her table.
Brenner escaped a career in high tech to write Women of the Vine, which highlights the careers of successful women in the wine industry. The Wine Spectator dubbed it one of the “best new books” of the year (published 2007). After profiling other impressive women in the wine industry, Brenner herself became one of them by launching Women of the Vine wine label. Under this label, her company markets limited production wines made by successful female winemakers, including some of the women in her book. Among them is Heidi Barrett, one of Napa Valley’s leading ladies in the wine industry. Barrett’s Napa Valley Syrah is listed for $90 on the Women of the Vine website.
At Brenner’s table, festival attendees had the unique opportunity to taste one of the few Tempranillo wines from grapes grown and produced in California—Women of the Vine’s Signature Series Tempranillo. Tempranillo is the Spanish varietal that is often blended with the spicy Grenache or as they call it in Spain, Garnacha, Produced by winemaker Dorothy Schuler, this wine is 100 percent Tempranillo. Thanks to Schuler, California is one of the very few places outside Spain where it is being successfully cultivated. This one is a light fruity, balanced red wine. It is listed on the website for $40.
Originally published on Examiner.com.
