Carol Anderson-Scott, 68; One of Napa’s First Female Winemakers

Carol Anderson-Scott, 68, who fell in love with the taste of champagne at 17 and became one of Napa Valley’s first female winemakers, died June 8 of unspecified natural causes at her home in Yountville, Calif.

Born Carol Gregson in Chicago, she grew up in Temple City and studied dental hygiene at Occidental College and USC. She married Stanley Anderson, a dentist, in 1961 and brought up their family in San Marino. Within a few years, the couple began looking for vineyard land in Napa Valley and eventually bought 28 acres.

Anderson - Scott studied oenology at UC Davis for two years, and the couple launched S. Anderson winery in 1971, producing its initial vintage in 1979. They commuted between the Napa and San Gabriel valleys for many years so the dentist could continue his practice in Pasadena.

Their winery gradually expanded to 102 acres. Anderson-Scott reveled in producing her much-loved S. Anderson sparkling wines, as well as chardonnays and, using grapes from the nearby Stags Leap vineyards, some cabernet sauvignon. After Anderson’s death in 1994, Anderson-Scott married Napa Valley native Tom Scott. She sold the winery last year.