Women’s History Month traces its origins to Wine Country

By Max Darrow

March is Women’s History Month. Though it was officially designated by Congress in 1987, the celebration and recognition of the contributions women have made to society’s roots trace back to Sonoma County in 1978.

And to Prema Kerollis, the Co-Founder and President of Three Sticks Winery, that is a point of pride.

“I think it’s an astonishing piece of our history, honestly,” she said. “I have loved Sonoma since I first stepped foot in it as a little girl.”

Kerollis found herself in the wine industry about 25 years ago. Back then, there weren’t a lot of women at the top.

“Being the boss of some male employees who were much older than me, more experienced, the effort and skill that it took to command their respect was at times, very hard,” she said.

But now in 2026, it is a different landscape. She recently hosted a meeting of women general managers and owners in the wine industry at Three Sticks Winery. The group was formed 11 years ago.

“We’ve grown that tiny group from six people to 20 with a wait list,” she said. “That points directly to how the industry has changed in a very short time.”

Kerollis said women have played a major role in her winery’s operations since its creation.

“Three Sticks has been women-led since the very beginning. In fact, 70% of our employees are women,” she said. “I have a great love and passion for women in the wine industry.”

Whether in the wine industry or elsewhere, in many cases, women have had to earn their stripes in ways that men haven’t had to.

Author and journalist Karen MacNeil recalls a moment from 1977. She was a young journalist in New York, eager to learn more about wine so she could write about it.

“Men held all the keys to the kingdom. They owned the wineries, they made the wine, they owned the vineyards, they wrote the books, they did the television shows. There was no way in or at least no easy way in if you were a woman,” she said.

At that time, MacNeil explained there were five men who wrote all the stories about wine. Ahead of one of their tastings, one of those men put his neck out to the group to include MacNeil.

“He asks them, could he bring me? Could I taste along with them? They took a vote. The answer came back that I could on one condition: as long as I didn’t talk,” she said. “It makes me want to cry, actually, thinking about that. You know, no woman today would even believe that you couldn’t talk. It’s unthinkable. But that wasn’t that long ago.”

It was around that time that 3,000 miles away, a group of women came together in Sonoma County, in Santa Rosa, to establish Women’s History Week. That set the groundwork for what would ultimately become Women’s History Month, still celebrated nationwide today.

“It’s so remarkable to think about where women have come since 1978,” MacNeil said.

MacNeil is now one of the most respected voices in the wine industry. She wrote the book, The Wine Bible, publishes a digital newsletter, WineSpeed, and still writes about wines from all over the world, tasting away in her cozy office in Saint Helena.

“It’s just heartwarming. It feels so good because it was so hard in the beginning,” she said.

As Kerollis, continues making her mark on the wine industry, she has a deep appreciation for the women who came before her, and for the community that planted the first seeds to celebrate women’s contributions to society.

“It makes me really happy and very proud,” she said.

Her advice for young professionals?

“Spend more time listening than talking, because you’ll discover much more that way,” she said. “Be bold, have fun, be yourself, and go for it.”