Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/6221
56 / the tasting panel / january–february 2010 p aso Robles is growing exponentially these days. Although commercial winemak- ing in the area began in the late 1870s, the number of bonded wineries in Paso Robles Wine Country has more than tripled since 2000, from 50 to more than 180. Still considered by many to be the Wild West of the California wine industry, Paso Robles, like other wine regions, has been dominated by male wine- makers, vineyard managers and winery own- ers—until the mid-1990s, that is. Today, the region boasts nine female wine- makers and seven female assistant winemak- ers, as well as innumerable women work- ing in the cellars. There are also 30 female winery owners/co-owners, as well as many other passionate, innovative and talented women working in other facets of the wine and hospitality industries. Here's the first of our multi-part series tak- ing a look at these amazing, driven women who are a significant part of what makes Paso Robles so special. Innovative and driven, Signe Zoller, Presi- dent/Winemaker, Zoller Winestyling was one of the first women winemakers in Paso and one of the most influential. With a M.A. from UC Davis, Signe began as a cellar rat at Kendall Jackson, where she was "one of the boys." Signe arrived in Paso Robles in 1994, when there were only 40 wineries in the region, spending the next eleven years as winemaker at Meridian. Since 2006, Signe has been consulting with individual and small businesses and attempts to take the mystery out of wine by walking her clients through the entire process of making wine. www.zollerwinestyling.com CenTRaL CoasT by Allison Levine The Women of Paso Robles PHOTO: ALLISON LEVINE Signe Zoller.