Application Window: March 1st through April 15th
WINE WOMEN's mission is to support professional women in the wine industry, whether they are just beginning their journey or advancing their careers. This year, we are excited to offer two scholarships: the WINE WOMEN Scholarship, available to WINE WOMEN members only, and the Community Scholarship, open to non-members, which includes a WINE WOMEN membership.
WINE WOMEN Scholarship - $2500
Eligibility requirements
- Must be a WINE WOMEN member
- Must live in Northern California
- The educational opportunity must support your career goals within the wine industry
Community Scholarship - $500
Eligibility requirements
- Open to non-members
- Must live in Northern California
- The educational opportunity must support your career goals within the wine industry
- Recipient will also receive a 1-year WINE WOMEN membership (valued at $165)
Apply for Scholarship on Website
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Apply for Scholarship on Website
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Get to know 2024 WINE WOMEN Scholarship winner Rosa "Rosie" Fierro!
How did you hear about WINE WOMEN/get involved in WINE WOMEN?
I heard about Wine Women from my friend and mentor, Julie Schreiber, who is also a member of Wine Women. She is the consulting winemaker for the Tri Valley Conservancy in Livermore Valley, where I make my wines. Julie invited all the women winemakers in Livermore to join in on a few of the roundtables, and I found them to be really interesting and helpful, so I started attending more events. This was how I learned about the available scholarship.
What were you doing for work/school before the scholarship?
I worked at an international law firm in San Francisco, called Nixon Peabody, where I was a legal assistant in the area of Aviation Defense Litigation for plane and helicopter crashes and also in Nazi Era Restitution law. I started my winery in 2014, and was working my full time job and running the winery at the same time. I finally made the decision to leave my job in December of 2019 to focus full time on the winery.
How did you use the scholarship to benefit your work/schooling?
I initially learned to make wine from other winemakers, but there were a lot of pieces missing – a lot of things that I didn’t fully understand about winemaking. I was losing a lot of wine and was extremely frustrated and embarrassed. I wanted to succeed with my winery more than anything, and wanted to focus more on increasing the quality of my wines. I started looking at programs and decided on the UC Davis Winemaking Certification Program, which I could do online while still running my winery. The program is very expensive, so I was really grateful to receive the scholarship. It is incredible how much I learned! I sailed through the 2024 harvest with more confidence than I have ever had, and you can already see the change in the quality of my newer wines.
What do you most love about the wine business?
I love EVERYTHING about the wine business! If I had to pick one thing, I really love making the wines during harvest. I love walking the vineyards during the year and watching the grapes mature, making picking decisions and then being in the cellar and crafting a wine from beginning to end – trying to imagine what it will be like when it’s finished. It is an incredibly artistic process.