Putting Bang In Your Wine Buck

Other winemakers complain about purple hands, purple tongues and purple stains all over their clothes during crush. Melissa Bates doesn't.

She simply dyes her hair purple so that everything matches.

"Actually, it's a way to remind everyone that we're going to be OK", says Bates, winemaker for Farallon Cellars. "As we get into crush and our stress builds, it helps to keep in mind that it's a fun job, too."

Farallon is part of Turner Road Vintners, a division of Sebastiani Vineyards. Bates also is winemaker for its sister label, Talus.

Just as Bates is a distinctive figure around the winery during crush, the Farallon wines she makes are distinctive, too, scoring well in blind tastings and making impressions in shops and restaurants where the wines are sold.