After succeeding in law, she became ‘queen of vineyards’
Theodora Lee, a partner at an Oakland law firm, enrolled in viti- culture courses. She now makes wines and even drives a tractor at Theopolis Vineyards in Yorkville.
ByDennis Pollock Growing up in Texas, Theodora Lee wasn’t raised on finewine. Instead, it was home brew her father made fromMuscadine grapes. “I found that sweetandsyrupywinenasty,”shesaid. “I had no taste for wine.” But her interest in wine developed af- ter she began practicing law. Partners at her firmhostedgatherings at properties in California’swinecountry.Theywouldeven sometimes meet over some high-quality varietals while reviewing legal briefs. “I would be invited to stay for dinner, and we would drink fine wine,” Lee said. “Also, I was allowed to drive the tractor through the vineyards.” She had learned to drive a tractor on her dad’s cattle ranch in Texas when she was 8. Driving through the vineyards kindled an interest ingrape farming,which ledher toenroll incontinuingeducationclasses in the viticulture and enology department at theUniversity of California, Davis. By day, Lee is a senior partner and trial lawyer at LittlerMendelson, amajor labor andemployment lawfirm. Shewas the first African-American femalemanaging part- ner of the firm’s Oakland branch.
Now, she is also known as “Theopatra, queen of the vineyards.” That’s because Leebought 20acres of landused for sheep farming in the Yorkshire Highlands of Anderson Valley in 2001. She began planting grapevines a few years later. Today, her Theopolis Vineyards produc- es award-winning petite sirah, pinot noir, rose and other wines. When Lee took classes at UC Davis in 2001 and 2002, shewas the only person of color in the viticulture and enology pro- gram. Her classes included “Four Seasons of Growing Grapes” and “The Business of Running a Small Vineyard.” Lee,whopreviouslygraduated fromthe Universityof Texas School of Law, saidshe has seenmore progress ondiversity in the wine industry in thepast twoyears than in her 35 years in law. “In the wine industry in 2020, several wineries and winery associations made a commitment tobringdiversity to thewine industry,” Lee said. “Because of these ef- forts, in two short years, you can seemore women and people of color advance in the industry.” She said she is hopeful the wine indus- try will continue to becomemore diverse more rapidly “aswine bringsmore people of all hues together.”
In 2012, an ill-timed rain fell during harvest and brix levels were low when grapes were picked. She had to have the grapes customcrushed. She workedwith a winemaker who took half the harvest in exchange for processing the other half to make her wines. The partnership produced prize-win- ning wines and led Lee to focus more of her energy on enology and wine making. Working with a consulting winemaker, she is now intimately involved in barrel selection, thegrapecrush, blending, barrel sampling andwinemaking. She is verymuch hands-on in other ar- eas, including pruning in the winter and harvest in the fall, along with marketing anddoingvirtual and livewine tastings, at-
tending trade shows and negotiating with restaurants andwine bars. Lee recently established a scholarship at UCDavis for students interested in viti- culture and enology and related research ormanaginga vineyard, withapreference for students who are underrepresented in wine professions. She now sees her wine success as an unexpected but welcome homecoming. “At my core, I am a country girl from Texas who loved driving the tractor, rop- ing cattle and building barns,” Lee said. “Owning my own vineyard allows me to return tomy farming roots.” (Denni s Pol lock i s a repor t er in F r e s no . He ma y b e c on t a c t e d a t agcompollock@yahoo.com.)
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April 27, 2022 Ag Alert 5
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