Virginia’s wine history is full of trailblazing women who fought for critical legislation, became world- renowned experts in viticulture, pushed for AVA status, and led the way in creating high quality wines and wine venues that have made wine tourism an economic driver for the state’s economy.
Each year, Virginia Women in Wine will honor these women with the VWW Trailblazer Award, showcasing what each of these leaders has made possible, encouraging the next generation to follow in their footsteps, and permanently honoring their legacy.
For 2024, we are proud to honor:
Lucie Morton
Known as the “Grape Sleuth,” Lucie Morton has played a pivotal role in the establishment of many of Virginia’s vineyards. Her extensive knowledge of Virginia’s soil, climate and grapes made her the go-to expert not only for wineries around the state, but around the world. She even has a fungus named after her, the Phaeocremonium Mortonia, or the dreaded black goo disease, that she identified and studied.
From her early days experimenting with grape-growing on her family’s farm in King George, VA, Morton went to France to become the first American woman enrolled in viticulture at the esteemed Ecole Nationale Superieure Agronomique in Montpelier, France. She came back to Virginia and logged thousands of miles as a consultant.
Her honors include being recognized as one of the Wine Industry Network’s most inspiring people in 2021, the Virginia Wineries Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018, the American Wine Society’s National Award of Merit in 1994, and from the Vineyard & Winery Management, one of 2013’s Most Admired People in the North American Wine Industry and 2015’s Twenty Most Admired Grape Growers in North America.
Emma Randel
A mother of five, Emma Randel and her late husband, Jim, established one of the first vineyards in the state in 1979 on the farm her family owned since the 1700s in the Shenandoah Valley. Starting as a hobbyist, Emma became an invaluable source for area viticulture practices, guiding other area wineries with her knowledge of the soil and climate. One of her greatest achievements, leading the campaign to establish Virginia’s first designated American Viticultural Area for the Shenandoah Valley in 1982, was instrumental in bringing respect and recognition to Virginia as a modern winegrowing region.
Jim passed away in 1985 and Emma continued to run the winery into her 90’s before selling in 2018. Now owned by Michael Shaps Wineworks, Shenandoah Vineyards is the second oldest operating vineyard in the state.
Felicia Warburg Rogan
Recognized as the “First Lady of Virginia Wine,” Felicia Warburg Rogan established the first all-women-run winery in the state in 1986, Oakencroft Vineyard and Winery in Charlottesville. Guided by her friend, Lucie Morton, she planted European varietals and hired her gardener, Deborah Welsh, as winemaker.
As head of only the sixth winery to open in Virginia, Felicia became a staunch advocate and promoter for Virginia’s burgeoning wine industry. She traveled abroad to promote Virginia wine on trade missions with Governors Baliles and Wilder, and arranged for Virginia wines to be carried at Bloomingdale’s in New York City. Her accolades include starting the Jeffersonian Grape Growers Society and chairing the Virginia Wine Growers Advisory Board. She also worked to establish the AVA designation for the Monticello region, which in 2024 was named Wine Region of Year by Wine Enthusiast Magazine.