Behind the vine

Cara Morrison - Sonoma Cutrer - Sonoma, California, U.S.A.

When do you think you fell in love with wine, enough to make a career of it?

I got pretty lucky that I attended UC Davis right out of high school. It was a fairly local school and I knew I'd be a science major, but didn't know what I’d do with it. After the first quarter of sophomore year, one of my teacher assistants said that he was in the winemaking department, and I hadn't heard of it before. I then found an intro to winemaking course, and in it they were talking about malolactic fermentation and a bit of the organic chemistry behind winemaking. I immediately found that combination of science and art to be amazing. I followed the teacher out of the classroom straight into her office and asked how to change my major to get into wine!

I think it wasn't until the third year of college that I got into the winemaking courses and started meeting others in the program, and I really felt I had found my people. We were all kind of nerdy, but liked to have fun. The technical people, but we could go out and have a drink. We're still connected to this day. I didn't have a strong wine background, but I totally fell in the love with it, and every year it got more and more interesting.

What story does your wine tell?

The first thing is the name: Sonoma. We're really proud of being in Sonoma. Our first vintage was 1981 and back then the region wasn't well known, so we put Sonoma front and center.

We started doing Pinot Noir in early 2000s, but originally we put a singular focus on Chardonnay, because it was the grape that fit the growing region the best. Our style of Chardonnay was developed in '81 and it has a more acidic style. We do barrel fermentation with a lighter touch of oak, so you have great texture, mouthfeel, quality, and we've kept that style throughout the years. When I tasted the Chardonnay for the first time, I knew I wanted to make that wine. I'm always going in with the mindset of this is the style that we make and that I love.

This year is our 40th anniversary producing Chardonnay and we made a special wine for that occasion which will come out later this year. There's only been three winemakers in Sonoma Cutrer and we did a collaboration with all of them to do a blend. It will tell the story of our consistencies through the years.

What misconceptions about wine do you think people should forget?

There are so many. I think the number one thing is that wine has to be serious. Wine is fun, you don't have to save it for a special occasion - it drives me crazy that people save sparkling or special wines forever! And you don't have to know everything about it.

Of course wine is interesting and for people who are interested and want to learn more, there are ways to do that, but you don't need to be super educated in wine to enjoy it. Think about all of the other drinks or categories you enjoy - coffee, beer, etc. - people don't expect you to know everything about what goes into those, but with wine it has that expectation. People get so scared, but they really shouldn’t.

What great things about wine do you think people should remember?

You should have fun with wine and enjoy it. Be confident about what you like, and feel confident saying how you like your wine. You shouldn’t be intimidated. Think about it - nobody at Starbucks slaps down your coffee and says no you can’t enjoy coffee like that. It’s the same with wine.

It's fun to explore and experiment on your own and with others, and that's something you can definitely do with wine. There are so many ways to make wine fun. You can open 2 or 3 bottles of wine and have 5 cheeses, taste them, see how each differs and how what you eat can change wine. That's the best way to learn how food and wine pair.

What is a piece of advice you would give to a woman interested in breaking into the wine world?

If you're trying to break into winemaking, you should have a bit of a science background or work internships to work your way up. In general - I think it's true with all careers - it’s important to get the right mentor. When you're looking for a job, you want the right manager who will teach you. There are people in wine who want to help and share their expertise with you.

Who is a woman in wine you think everyone should know about?

We have a harvest oenologist position where we hire people for the harvest period and I try to mentor them with the goal of becoming winemakers. So there are five women I’d like to highlight: Alicia Sylvester at Banshee Wines, Heidi Bridenhagen at MacRostie Winery, Saman Parsa at E&J Gallo, Rebecca Valls at Clos du Bois and Zidanelia Arcidiacono who is the Pinot Noir winemaker at Sonoma Cutrer.

Where can women find your wine?

You can buy directly on our site.

In the US & Canada we are widely available at wine shops and grocery stores. Our Chardonnay is also popular by the glass, so we encourage people to support their local restaurants and consider buying a bottle of our wine when ordering to-go food.