Kristen Barnhisel is an American

winemaker A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes: *Cooperating with viticulturists *Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to deter ...

. She is Quality Control manager at

Inglenook An inglenook or chimney corner is a recess that adjoins a fireplace. The word comes from "ingle", an old Scots word for a domestic fire (derived from the Gaelic ''aingeal''), and "nook". The inglenook originated as a partially enclosed heart ...

. She specializes in making

pinot noir Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words for ''pine'' and ''black.' ...

and

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon' ...

wines.

Personal life and education

Kristen Barnhisel was raised in

Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa (Spanish language, Spanish for "Rose of Lima, Saint Rose") is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Her mother was a

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Ancient Greek, Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of Microorganism, microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, f ...

who worked at

Simi Winery Simi Winery is a winery in California in the United States. History The winery was founded in San Francisco, California in 1876 by two Italian brothers, Giuseppe and Pietro Simi, who had immigrated to the United States during the California Gold R ...

. Her father made wine at the family home. Barnhisel attended the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...

. While in school, she studied

Italian literature Italian literature is written in the Italian language, particularly within Italy. It may also refer to literature written by Italian people, Italians or in Languages of Italy, other languages spoken in Italy, often languages that are closely re ...

and

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

. She also attended the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

, where she obtained her master's degree in

enology Oenology (also enology; ) is the science and study of wine and winemaking. Oenology is distinct from viticulture, which is the science of the growing, cultivation, and harvesting of grapes. The English word oenology derives from the Greek word ' ...

Career

Barnhisel worked at

Ruffino Ruffino is a wine producer based in the Tuscany region of Italy. Founded in 1877, the winery was purchased by the Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, making her the first woman and first

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

to work there during

harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...

season. She has worked at wineries in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. In 1997, she started as enologist at Columbia Crest. She also worked at Jordan Vineyard & Winery and Belvedere. She started working at Handley Cellars in 2004. She worked as co-winemaker with Milla Handley until 2012. She was previously the Quality Control Manager for

but is now one of the leaders of J.Lohr's white wine programs. She has been in this role since 2015. Barnhisel currently serves as a director for the

American Society for Enology and Viticulture The American Society for Enology and Viticulture, founded in 1950, is a non-profit, scientific wine production industry organization headquartered in Davis, California. Its membership of 2,400 includes professionals from wineries, vineyards, aca ...

References

External links

''The Pioneer Queen of Anderson Valley Pinot''
an interview with Milla Handley and Kristen Barnhisel from ''Wine Spectator'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnhisel, Kristen American winemakers American women scientists People from Santa Rosa, California University of California, San Diego alumni University of California, Davis alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women

Personal life and education

Career

Further reading

References

External links