Women in Wine: The Texan Torch Carriers

It’s a wrap for Women’s History Month and in recognition of women in wine, here’s part two of Texas Wine Women (because y’all know everything is big in Texas, so all that celebrating couldn’t fit in just one story). Yesterday you met some (but not all!) of the pioneering women who helped put Texas on the wine map and today, here are a few (again, not all!) who are carrying the torch forward.

Karen Bonarrigo, Messina Hof Wine Cellars. Marrying into a wine family, meant marrying into the business, too, a role that Karen Bonarrigo took head on when she and her husband moved to Texas to transition the family business to the current generation. Beginning as human resources manager, Karen now oversees all HR, admin and marketing duties as chief administrative officer and co-owner. Her personal passion is food and wine pairing, and to that end, she’s working on initiatives to include the winery on the front of the culinary scene.

In her 14 years as a winery executive. Karen has immersed herself in the industry, serving in numerous posts: vice-president, president, past-president and chairman of the legislative committee of Texas Hill Country Wineries (2016–19); Region 3 foundation director for the Texas Wine Foundation (formerly the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Foundation, 2014-20); secretary/treasurer on the Board of Experience Bryan-College Station (formerly the Bryan-College Station Convention and Visitors Bureau). She is currently serving as the co-chairman of Texas Hill Country Wineries’ marketing committee and secretary of the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association (TWGGA). Karen was named a Master Lady of the Vine with the esteemed Brotherhood of the Knights of the Vine in 2017. She also holds the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) level II, and passed the introductory level with the Court of Master Sommeliers.

Julie Kuhlken, Pedernales Cellars. Julie Kuhlken, PhD in philosophy and WSET III, is co-founder and CEO of Pedernales Cellars, a majority women-owned sixth-generation winery. Julie is responsible for overall tasting room operations, hospitality, and marketing for the Pedernales Cellars brand as well as the Signature Series and Kuhlken-Osterberg brands. She has served as president of the Texas Hill Country Winery Association and is currently co-chair of its marketing committee, helping build the reputation for Texas Wine Country as an exceptional wine destination. She is on the board of the Economic Development Committee of Gillespie County, where managing the growth of wine industry is a core concern and has served on the board of TWGGA, the state-wide industry organization. She is a member of the Les Dames d’Escoffier-Austin.

A long-time leader in the Texas wine industry, Julie is a passionate advocate not only for Texas wines, but also art and philanthropy. Through her leadership, Pedernales Cellars has partnered with the Hill Country Film Festival to help develop the cinematic arts in central Texas, and underwrites two of the festival awards.

Roxanne Myers, Lost Oak Winery. Myers earned her bachelor’s degree in pharmacology/toxicology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which informed her international career in the pharmaceutical industry. But stateside, she has more than 17 years of experience in the wine industry, serving from tasting room to president at the family-run Lost Oak Winery, where she grew sales by 600% over the past 13 years. Under her watch, Lost Oak Winery was awarded Best Small Business of the Year from the city of Burleson in 2017—the same year Myers was named a finalist as an “Entrepreneur of Excellence” by Fort Worth magazine. The winery was recognized in Wine Enthusiast magazine as a “Top 10 Winery Wedding Destination.”

Roxanne’s civic and community activities include currently serving as chairwoman for the Burleson Area Chamber of Commerce’s board of trustees. She also headed the Tourism Alliance for Burleson-area businesses, creating a financial strategy for promotional funds that resulted in the establishment of a focused tourism bureau for the city of Burleson. From 2013 to 2015, Myers served as a director for the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Foundation where she spearheaded the revision of the bylaws, enabling some $400,000 of appropriated state funds to be reinstated to Texas wineries. She served as president of TWGGA in 2021.

UP AND COMING: Susan Johnson, owner, Texas Heritage Vineyard. Born on the Texas Gulf Coast, Texas Heritage Vineyard owner and co-winemaker, Susan Johnson and her husband moved from moved from Austin to Fredericksburg, the heart of the Texas Hill Country, in 2002. where they planted a three-acre field of lavender. In 2013, Susan swapped out a career in the insurance industry for student life, enrolling in the Texas Tech viticulture program. She and her husband planted their first vines in 2015, and grew the vineyards to 12.5 acres and numerous Iberian and Mediterranean varieties. The Johnsons built their winery in 2017 and opened the tasting room a year later, involving the family throughout the operations. Though Susan and her husband head up three generations in the winery, Texas Heritage Vineyard, at only six years old, is a promising up and comer.