At one time being a calendar girl meant a step along the road to Hollywood, to stardom and to fame and fortune.

But to 23 Napa Valley women, being calendar girls means helping to increase awareness of sustainable farming and emphasize the roles of women in the wine industry.

The women are featured in the new 2006 Women in Winegrowing calendar that will be formally unveiled at a release party tonight from 6 to 8 at the Culinary Institute of America. It's open to the public and admission is free.

Jennifer Kopp, executive director of the Napa Valley Grapegrowers, said that one day she looked around her board room and realized that "five women are on the board, and these are the people making decisions (about grape growing) in Napa Valley."

During a hike with her friend, Elaine Honig, they talked about the women growers and hit on the idea of a calendar featuring some of their female counterparts, and, in Kopp's words, "The train left the station in a hurry and everyone got on board," as their idea took off.

Kopp said the purpose of the calendar is to bring attention to the women who work in the vineyard. Women winemakers have been acknowledged for years, she said, and she and Honig felt it was time to recognize those in the vineyards.

Into sustainable farming

"Once we identified the women, we realized that they all are involved in sustainable farming and are active in the community," she said. She wondered out loud whether there was something about sustainable farming and women -- "all these women have a sense of responsibility to the environment."

The full-color spiral-bound calendar features some women who are internationally famous, like Kathryn Hall, a former U.S. ambassador to Austria, and others who are known only within their own community, like Maria Fuentes and Maria Aguilera, field crew leaders who have worked for Beckstoffer Vineyards for some 30 years.

The only qualification to be part of the calendar, Kopp said, was that the women had to be members of Napa Valley Grapegrowers. "Some were shy in front of the camera, but Terence (Ford) and John (Putnam) were so funny and made them feel natural and relaxed, and they all came around." Ford was the photographer and Putnam, also a photographer, assisted him with lighting and set arrangements.

All photos were taken in historic places in Napa Valley, and all women were allowed to be photographed in a location of their choosing. Spottswoode Vineyards & Winery's Beth Novak Milliken, CEO; Sara Cakebread, winemaker; and Jennifer Williams, vineyard manager, were posed in front of Spottswoode Winery.

Julie Nord of Nord Coast Vineyards stood near the Napa River because her family has been long involved in river restoration efforts, and Linda Neal of M & L Vineyard Management leaned on her truck. Trucks were popular -- Laddie Hall of Long Meadow Ranch and Lauren Leeds of Frogs Leap Winery sat in an old 1930s truck on the Hall's ranch.

"The calendar highlights how many women are decision makers in the vineyards today -- this was not the case 15 years ago," Kopp said. She estimated, and emphasized it was only an estimate -- "There's no way to get a handle on a (specific) number" - that up to 30 percent of vineyard people making decisions today are women, compared to maybe only 2 percent in the 1980s.

The essence of the calendar, she said, is to show "progressive women who are taking an active role in making their community better by being involved and farming sustainably."

The Vintage Bank will feature a Women in Winegrowing exhibit at each of its branches through the end of the year, with large format photos from the calendar prominently displayed.

'Calendar girls' will sign 'months'

Calendars will be available for sale at the release party tonight, and the "calendar girls" will be present to autograph their "months." The calendar also is available via a specifically-created Web site and at the Napa Valley Grapegrowers office at 811 Jefferson St., Napa. Cost of the 12 by 16 1/2 inch calendar is $15. It's a limited edition -- only 2,000 copies were produced.

Funds raised from the sale of the calendars will go toward Napa Valley Grapegrowers' sustainable agriculture programs.

Kopp said the community has shown a positive response to the calendar. "People buy the calendar out of a sense of pride in their valley," she said. "Out-of-towners love it because they can take home a snapshot of Napa Valley."

Putting the project together was a time-consuming process, Kopp said. She began working on it in April, and the photo shoot alone took four days. Getting the lighting just right and getting the background perfect took as much as four hours for a single shot, she said.

Will there be another calendar next year? "No, this is a one-time project," Kopp said. "Think of these as collectors' items."

For information, go to www.womeninwinegrowing.com