February 28, 2021: A Note from Jim Morris, the Napa Valley Wine Guy, and Hope Katz Gibbs, hosts, the Women Who Make Us Wine show — We celebrate brunch today talking with Ana Keller, owner of the Keller Estate Winery in Petaluma, CA.
Born and raised in Mexico City, where her love for plants drove her to study biopharmaceutical chemistry. In the ’80s, the family relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area and eventually purchased land in Petaluma.
True pioneers to the region, the Keller family planted the first Chardonnay vineyard in 1989. In 1998, she joined the family vineyard and, with her father, started Keller Estate Winery in 2000.
“Growing grapes, it turns out, was a perfect fit for my love of plants,” says Ana, who shares that making wine became a second love. Since then, Keller Estate now farms sustainably 94 acres of vineyard and produces wines exclusively from the family’s property, a genuine Estate.
In 2013, Ana Joined the Petaluma Gap Winegrowers Alliance’s board and was instrumental in creating the Petaluma Gap AVA. Ana loves cooking for the family and finds that she’s always reaching out to her Mexican roots for inspiration and flavors.
On today’s show, we talk with Ana about:
- What her dad said to inspire her to start her family winery
- What it takes to keep a winery going year after year
- How almost everyone in her family has a role — including her sister who has created one of the beautiful wine labels
- How the 2020 fires in California have impacted her business
- What’s on the horizon for 2021 and beyond!
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