A select group of women, including myself, were lucky enough to attend the Women for Winesense, a national wine education organization, to speak as panelists on women's different roles in the wine industry earlier this month.

The panelists consisted of Amy Hoffman, owner and general manager of Rooster Hill Vineyards; Holly Howell, wine writer with the Democrat and Chronicle and wine educator, Rochester Institute of Technology; Bridget Olisky, a retail manager at Glenora Wine Cellars; Lucia Reed, offsite wine taster at Dr. Frank Vinfera Wine Cellars; Sandy Waters, sales director for NY Wines, Upstate, Empire Merchants North, LLC and myself.

The evening included networking, panel discussion, wine and light hors d'oeuvres. As each panelist told how they started in the business, it was evident that all the women had a true love of wine and were positively delighted with their positions in the industry.

“I think the panel did a great job promoting the wine industry,” said Jan Dougherty, an attendee. “I know that they generated much enthusiasm within the group at my table. It's nice to see the camaraderie among the panel members and to be with people that love what they are doing.”

Bridget, retail manager at Glenora Wine Cellars, stated “Glenora hosts nearly 70,000 people a year, and we're always looking for qualified people from June to October and especially in the fall where we can see up to 2,000 people in a weekend. These women expressed a great interest in wine and had a great attitude, two qualities of equal importance in the hospitality business.”

At the end of the month on March 29, I will have the opportunity at Cayuga Ridge Estate to participate in its enhanced 2008 Vigneron Program. In this one-of-a-kind program, visitors will learn from the experts how to make wine by working directly with the winery owners. Attendees will be able to cultivate the art and science of nurturing vines to a successful harvest and learn how to prune, tie, sucker and train vines through the growing season. In addition to learning how to care for vines, attendees will grow a potted vine to take home, evaluate previous vintages during a barrel tasting and create wine during a blending workshop. As a Vigneron, guests can harvest their own grapes or, for a cellaring fee, the winery will make them into wine and bottle it. The rest of the program runs four other Saturdays until the fall.

In April, to celebrate 25 years “Toast the Trail” Celebration Dinner will be held with the owners and winemakers of the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail. The event takes place at 6 p.m. April 12, at the Holiday Inn in Waterloo. The evening will include sparkling wine and cider, appetizers and a gourmet dinner. Each course is accompanied by two Cayuga Lake Wine Trail wines.

Other events include:

• Talk 'n Taste and Taste 'n Talk, April 5, at Cayuga Ridge Estate Winery and Hosmer Winery - New vintages released in the cellar, meet winemakers and cheese provided by Lively Run Dairy

• New Vintage Days, April 12 and 13, at Swedish Hill Vineyard and Goose Watch Winery

• Spring Winemaker's Dinner, April 19, at Sheldrake Point Vineyard and Simply Red Lakeside Bistro

Cathy Millspaugh is the executive director of the Cayuga Wine Trail. To learn more, visit

www.cayugawinetrail.com