Ever since I stepped foot in Sparkman Cellars to apply for my very first job, I knew I was interested in wine. Now don’t worry, I’m not one of those teens who drink on Saturday nights; for the past two years, you’ll have found me in the kitchen making charcuterie plates for tables of smiling girls in hats and sundresses! Getting to be so close to the barrels, grapes, and lovely people has made winemaking a dream for me, but as of March 10th, it’s no longer just a dream. On this day, I received my life-changing acceptance letter from UC Davis into their viticulture and enology program. My first thought, as any middle-class child from a small town would have, was “I can’t believe I got into an Ivy League!” It’s a dream come true, and it's the best winemaking school in America. Thoughts of creating a family just like the one I’ve had for the past 2 years at Sparkman Cellars filled my mind. After I was rejected from my realistic in-state school just the night before, it felt like fate, and in an instant, all of my plans changed. Inevitably, my family and I had to talk about money. California is one of the most expensive places to go to college out-of-state. I knew what I was getting myself into when I brought the acceptance letter to my mom, a teacher, and my dad, a city worker. They were so happy for me, but I could tell that their smiling faces were tainted by the knowledge that we really couldn’t afford it. With hope in their eyes, they started helping me look for scholarships online, and I promised them I would apply for every single scholarship that I possibly could. The next day, it was time to take my story public and share the dream with all of you.

A study at Santa Clara University reveals a prominent issue in the wine world finding that less than 15% of winemakers in California are women (Gilbert 2020); however, when you walk into a winery, you are surrounded by the friendly faces of women serving, hosting, and bartending. Most of the lead roles are filled by men in this industry, and after nearly 150 years with only a 4% increase, it’s my goal to help close the gap (Gilbert 2020). Even more important is that the majority of wine purchases in the U.S. are made by women, (Nielsen Spectra 2015), wouldn’t it be nice to know that your next bottle of wine is made by someone who represents the community of patrons? Despite being surprised I was accepted into an Ivy League, I have already worked very hard to set up this dream for myself, and I believe I deserve this opportunity. Throughout my high school experience, I took 6 AP classes and conducted my own mock thesis in winemaking while observing the process at my winery. This earned me the ability to publish my findings formally to the academic circle and awarded me my AP Capstone Diploma which is highly regarded among colleges. After sports and clubs were shut down for the pandemic, I began the running start program through Edmonds College in attempts to fast-track my degree online. When we went back to school in person, I was taking three high school courses during the day and two classes at the college after school hours– even going to Edmonds until 8 at night. It was that year when I realized that I wasn’t going to be able to get my AA before graduating high school because I had chosen to take AP Classes instead of college classes. I knew I needed to find a way to obtain my degree, so I would only have to pay for two years of college. Around this time, I got a second job as an art teacher for children ages 4-14, so I could pay for extra schooling not covered by the running start program. I decided to take summer courses at the college and make up for the extra credits I needed to graduate. The summer before my senior year, I worked 7 days a week teaching art and cooking at the winery while taking a full college course load. When summer ended, I couldn’t work at the art school because the hours were during my college classes, but I still missed walking in every day to the smiling faces of kids, so I asked my mom if I could teach art in her fourth-grade classroom. I became a registered volunteer in Snohomish School District and have been bonding with her class since.

I love teaching children, and I want them to be a part of the family dynamic in the wine world. After all, who needs a glass more than the mothers who work so hard to raise their kids? But it doesn’t stop at just parents; while most winemakers take months or years to curate tastings of wine, I’d love to make a non-alcoholic grape juice flight for kids. They deserve more than some crayons, cheese, and crackers when they’re tagging along on Mom and Dad’s date. With my position in the wine industry, no table would be short of board games, grape juice, and perfectly paired PB and grape jelly sliders. If working in a winery since 16 has taught me anything, it’s that wineries should be an enjoyable environment for people of all ages. At Sparkman, my coworkers and I work constantly to make the back as fun as possible. Together, we draw pictures and hang them on the wall, we dance to music, and we play games like “who can break the fewest wine glasses” and “Sparkman Towel Soccer.” There’s even a swing set upstairs and a pool table in the cellar!

Now that we’ve talked about the dream, let’s talk about the plan, the reality. One year at UC Davis is 70,000 dollars, but I’m not looking for four years of debt. Because I have my AA, I’ll only need to go for two years before I embark on my postgraduate studies, and once I’ve lived in California for my Bachelor’s, I can apply for residency and get in-state tuition. Between what my family can contribute and the scholarships I hope to obtain, I might be able to come up with 20,000 for the first year. That’s where you come in: if even 1,000 people donated $50 to my cause, I could go to UC Davis. 1,000 people might seem like a lot, but in my high school alone, there were nearly 3,000 students. In 2019, the vaping epidemic struck America, and I created a pledge with logos and stickers for students at my school to protest. 1,000 students signed the pledge then, and 1,000 people could support me now. Maybe if you’re my age, $50 sounds like a lot. But to put it in perspective, $50 is less than 10 Starbucks runs, $50 is two shirts at your favorite store, and $50 is the typical cost of a bottle of wine from a winery. You’re buying a dream in a bottle, and you get to help make the dream, so really, you’d be a winemaker too! If you’re reading this, you might be from my home state, Washington. Once I finish my Master’s Degree, I’d like to move back home and work as a winemaker at an already-established winery in Woodinville or Walla Walla. On the side, I would make my own wine and sell it until it became popular. If people enjoyed it enough, I could open my own tasting room with the help of my dear mom who has always wished for the chance to run a business. Sometimes making the wine seems a bit lonely because crushing grapes, bottling wine, and blending are things that don't usually involve the public. I never would’ve realized I was interested in winemaking if I hadn’t started working at a winery, so I want to give everyone the opportunity to watch my process by hosting tours, info nights, and tasting events where I walk around and talk to all of my supporters about the journey of the drink in their hands, beginning with you.

Gilbert, Lucia Albino, and John Carl Gilbert. “Women Winemakers of California and beyond: Facts & Figures.” Women Winemakers of California and Beyond |Facts & Figures, 2020, https://webpages.scu.edu/womenwinemakers/facts.php.

Press Release. “Wine Market Council Unveils New Stats on Consumer Wine Consumption Habits.” Wine Business, 2015, https://www.winebusiness.com/news/article/164519.