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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
University of California, Davis Library, Dept. of Special Collections
Title: Joanne DePuy Papers
Creator:
DePuy, Joanne
Identifier/Call Number: D-656
Physical Description:
5.4 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1973-2019
Abstract: Photographs, business records, correspondence,
clippings, and audiovisual material related to Napa Valley entrepreneur and wine enthusiast Joanne DePuy's businesses,
especially Wine Tours International; the Napa Valley Wine Symposium; and the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 (popularly known as
the Judgment of Paris).
Physical Location: Researchers should contact Special Collections to
request collections, as many are stored offsite.
Napa Valley entrepreneur and wine enthusiast Joanne DePuy (1927-) is the founder of Wine Tours International, Wine
Adventures, the Napa Valley Docent Council, Tennis Limited, and the Napa Valley Wine Symposium. She has been active in the
Napa Valley wine world since 1973, when she launched Wine Tours International with the idea of creating a way for winemakers
around the world to meet and learn from one another.
When Ms. DePuy founded Wine Tours International, she particularly wanted to have some of her tours led by famed winemaker
André Tchelistcheff. It took some time to convince Tchelistcheff, whose schedule was already very full, but in 1976, he
agreed to conduct a wine tour of France for Napa Valley vintners. This tour happened to coincide with a wine tasting that
would soon become famous for elevating the status of California wines worldwide: the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, popularly
known as the "Judgment of Paris". Steven Spurrier, one of the organizers of the tasting, was having difficulty getting the
California wines through customs. Since Ms. DePuy's tour group was headed to Paris shortly before the tasting was to take
place, she found a way to shuttle the wines over with her group, thus ensuring that the tasting could take place as
planned.
In 1981, Joanne DePuy founded the Napa Valley Wine Symposium, an annual event featuring tours, tastings, and lectures by
prominent figures in the world of wine. She served as the event's director from 1981 to 1983. Ms. DePuy's other contributions
to the world of wine include serving on the Board of Directors for the Stags Leap Wine District from 1979-2001 and
establishing a modest vineyard in Yountville with her late husband, Newell DePuy, Jr.
Joanne DePuy remains active in the Napa Valley community. She is closely involved with local healthcare organizations,
including the creation of a lecture series on integrative health at Queen of the Valley Hospital and serving on the Board
of
Trustees of the Napa Valley Medical Center Foundation.
Sources:
"About Us - Foundation Board Members - Joanne DePuy." Queen of the Valley Foundation, 2019,
https://www.queensfoundation.org/About-Us/Foundation-Board-Members/Joanne-DePuy.aspx
. Accessed 8 October 2019.
Mobley, Esther. "How a Napa divorcee saved the Judgment of Paris."
San Francisco Chronicle, 24 October 2018,
https://www.sfchronicle.com/wine/article/How-a-Napa-divorcee-saved-the-Judgment-of-Paris-13333349.php
. Accessed 8
October 2019.
Mobley, Esther. "The hidden figures behind the Judgment of Paris."
San Francisco Chronicle, 26 October 2018,
https://www.sfchronicle.com/wine/article/The-hidden-figures-benind-the-Judgment-of-Paris-13333299.php
. Accessed 8
October 2019.
The collection includes photographs, business records, correspondence, clippings, and audiovisual material related to
Joanne DePuy's businesses, especially Wine Tours International; her friends and colleagues, including Dorothy and Andre
Tchelistcheff; the Napa Valley Wine Symposium; and the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 (popularly known as the Judgment of
Paris).
Liz Phillips processed this collection with help from student assistant Vanessa Cardona-Ocegueda.
Collection is open for research.
[Identification of item], Joanne DePuy Papers, D-656, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of
California, Davis.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Joanne DePuy, 2019.
All applicable copyrights for the collection are protected under chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code. Requests for
permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California as the owner of the physical items. It is
not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Wine industry -- California
Wine and wine making -- Competitions -- France -- Paris
Wine tourism
DePuy, Joanne -- Archives
Tchelistcheff, André,
1901-