Dawnine Sample Dyer (born July 3, 1950) is an American winemaker and entrepreneur who pioneered the use of champagne-making methods in California's fledgling sparkling wine industry in the 1970s. Biography Dyer, a California native with a degree in biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, began her wine career in 1974, at the Robert Mondavi Winery in Oakville, the heart of the Napa Valley grape-growing region. In 1976, Dyer was recruited for the Napa Valley start-up Domaine Chandon, the first French-owned California sparkling wine venture in the United States. Charged with monitoring quality control, she was paired with a French winemaking team from Domaine Chandon’s parent company, Moët & Chandon, which included veteran enologist and winemaker Edmond Maudiere. Cast in the role of Maudiere's protégé, Dyer oversaw a series of winemaking trials aimed at creating a naturally fermented sparkling wine based on both Old and New world styles and techniques, including France's Methode Champenoise. At the time, only a half dozen sparkling wine producers existed in the United States, among them Korbel, Kornell and Schramsberg. The effort resulted in California's first sparkling wine made from Pinot Meunier, a black grape typically used in Champagne for additional depth and maturity. A separate effort led by Dyer resulted in a still wine also made from the Pinot Meunier varietal. Over the course of her 24-year tenure at Domaine Chandon, Dyer rose up through the ranks of the Yountville-based winery, ultimately becoming vice president and principal winemaker. In this capacity, she oversaw all winemaking at the 400,000-case winery and also worked with its parent company in France. In 1986, Dyer helped found Domaine Chandon’s sister winery in Australia's Yarra Valley, and also oversaw export products for the company's winery facility in Argentina. It was during this period that Dyer joined forces with other winemakers and grape growers in calling for the creation of Geographic Indications and Appellations of Origin for America's wine growing regions, including the Napa Valley AVA. While at Domaine Chandon, Dyer and husband Bill, a respected winemaker in his own right, planted a cabernet sauvignon vineyard in the Diamond Mountain District AVA of the Napa Valley, and began making earthy Bordeaux-style wines from the hillside estate. In 2000, she left Domaine Chandon to devote more time to Dyer Vineyard, which produces 400 cases of wine per year. The estate-grown cabernet is known for its minerality and deep berry flavors,