In 1980, a city girl with a background in technology and marketing moved to a remote ranch in the Calaveras County countryside with a vision to start a vineyard. That young woman, Gay Callan, must have looked crazy to a majority of local ranchers but with hard work and determination--and an excellent choice of land--she made her story a success.

There were some integral men on the scene early on (including Vineyard Manager David Bassham who has been with Chatom for 30 years), but Chatom quickly became known as a winery started and owned by a woman, and run by women. In 2002 another woman arrived on the scene—a winemaker! The addition of Mari Wells as winemaker sealed the deal for Chatom being known as the “female winery.” It was just a matter of time before Mari came up with the concept of creating a red wine blend made “by women, for women.” The concept for “She Wines” was born and the first release was in July of 2004.

A few years after the first release, with the She Wines going strong, Gay made the decision to “give back” to the community by donating partial proceeds from the She Wines to local women’s health related charities. A portion of proceeds from She Red went towards Heart Disease concerns and a portion from the She White went towards Breast Cancer charities.

Today, Chatom is known more for their consistently excellent wines than their employees’ gender (their incredibly talented winemaker, Mark Künz, does happen to be male). The She Wines label has been temporarily retired, but the spirit with which it was created remains. In place of the She Red is another red wine blend, called Cuvee, that carries the winery’s standard label. Partial proceeds still benefit Heard Disease concerns for women. After all, Chatom might not be considered the “female winery” anymore, but it is still a winery that was started by a woman—and Gay still runs the show!

Chatom's Cuvee Selection