ST. HELENA — Before a crowd of more than 200 attendees, the Culinary Institute of America inducted four new members to its prestigious Vintners Hall of Fame.

Two inductees are arguably two of the most controversial figures of the wine world, commanding both love and hate from people in the industry: the late Cesar Chavez was the farm labor organizer who changed the playing field between worker and grower, and Robert M. Parker, Jr. was the critic who some say moved California’s winemaking out of its imitative style, and established his standards for grand cru wine throughout the world.

Also inducted Monday, and joining the list of female winemakers in the Vintners Hall, was Meredith “Merry” Edwards. Additionally, a posthumous presentation went to Frank Schoonmaker, one of the early wine writers who was among the first to push California toward a varietal style.

Cesar Chavez

It was back in the 1960s that Chavez organized to improve the plight of Latino farmworkers, and in the process, helped to improve the status and quality of American wine. Workers’ skills were recognized, and these seasonal workers became full-time, skilled members of the grapegrowing and winemaking family. Chavez was instrumental in creating the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act.

Chavez was a man who never shared the wealth himself, but took up the cause, even at a detriment to his own health. He used boycotts, strikes, marches and rallies, even public fasts, to make American consumers aware of the hardship and the back-breaking work of field labor. U.S. Sen. Robert Kennedy called him “an American hero.”

Accepting the award for his grandfather was Anthony Chavez.

“My grandfather never earned more than $6,000 a year, and never owned his own home. He was a vegetarian who ate the products he grew from the soil,” Chavez said. “He only wanted everyone to appreciate the plight of the farmworkers, and that they could also enjoy the pleasures and fellowship that are created around food and wine.”

Robert M. Parker Jr.

Parker was not able to attend his induction because of an ongoing and debilitating back problem. In a video, he apologized for his absence from what he said was to be “a very joyous and special occasion.” He added, “I know I was a controversial choice, and never dreamed I would ever be accepted.”

Parker admitted to being an early critic of California wines, primarily because, in his view, many vintners were failing to achieve the potential that was available to them — the production of world-class wines.

“What California vintners have accomplished over the past 20 years is considerable, and has given me a great joy,” Parker said.

Parker and his influential publication, The Wine Advocate, have had a profound effect on the way both consumers and producers now view wine. The author of definitive books on Bordeaux, Burgundy, and the Rhone Valley, Parker has a reputation as the most powerful wine critic in the world. To those whose wines get his approval, a Parker 90-plus rating is like a Michelin star to a restaurant — it is money in the bank. A movement downward can mean financial panic.

Meredith Edwards

As one of America’s first female winemakers, Edwards said she had to fight the centuries-old stigma against women working outside the home before she could become one of the first vintners of her gender. She credits her success to her grandmother and her “team of gay guys,” who gave their full support and backing to break down the barriers.

One of the first women to graduate from UC Davis in enology, Edwards said she was turned down many times for employment as a winemaker even though she was highly recommended by her well-respected professor, Maynard Amerine.

At the time, the University of California had a policy to place women in lab positions, rather than as winemakers. Refusing to accept this treatment, Edwards fought and helped to bring about its change. Her big break in winemaking came, she said, when Richard Graff made her his apprentice winemaker at Mount Eden Vineyards.

Edwards went on to establish Matanzas Creek as one of the North Coast’s premiere wineries. Fascinated by the virtues of pinot noir and its difficult nature, she became a pioneer in the grape’s potential in the Russian River region. She now has her own winery there, near Graton.

Frank Schoonmaker

In the late 1930s, Schoonmaker was an original advocate for a California style; and, therefore, was greatly responsible for the revolution in American wine.

In his articles in The New Yorker magazine, and in his book, “Encyclopedia of American Wine,” he urged vintners to stop making Burgundy, Chablis, Chianti-type wines, and to label them by their varietal fruit instead. Schoonmaker is credited with influencing vintners who began labeling wines in a distinctively American way.

He also was instrumental in encouraging the establishment of AVAs (American Viticultural Areas) to give further distinction to California wine. With his encouragement, one of the first to do so was the Wente Winery with its Livermore Valley Sauvignon Blanc.

(John Intardonato is a Calistoga resident and wine writer.)