WOMEN IN WINE
March is a month dedicated to the celebration of Women’s History, and women have played no small role in wine and viticulture. Globally, 82% of winemakers are male, with just 18% women taking on the role. Historical records show women were involved in the winemaking process dating back to Mesopotamia, and in medieval European times. Women, generally worked the family gardens, preserved family recipes and passed down winemaking and grape growing techniques. In the 1800’s the Widow Clicquot is credited with revolutionizing the production of sparkling wine. Madame Clicquot, Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, took on her husband’s wine business when widowed at the age of 27. In the early 19th Century, the Napoleonic Code denied women civil and political rights, preventing them from working, voting, entering university or earning money, without the consent of their husband or father. During this time, widows were the only French women allowed to work outside the home. It is written that Clicquot first had to convince her father-in-law as an apprentice, thus becoming known as “the Grande Dame of Champagne” she is credited with the discovery of riddling, creating the first vintage Champagne 1818, and a blending method known as saignee’.
In 1840 Hannah Elizabeth Rabbe was born in Indiana. She later became the second wife of John C Weinberger. The two began a fruit and nursey business in Ohio and later purchased a few acres from Charles Krug in Napa Valley in 1869. They immediately built a two and half-story stone masonry winery and began planting grapes. Tragically, JC was murdered in 1882 in an attempt to defend his daughter from the unwanted affections of a winery employee. Hannah not only took over the winery, she then took over her husband’s job as director of the Bank of St Helena. At a time when women could not vote, and were often discouraged from working, Hannah became a pioneer in Napa Valley, increasing the wineries production, and winning a silver medal for her Cabernet Sauvignon bottling at the World’s Fair (where much of the competition was made by French men). Hannah Weinberger was one of the first great American winemakers.
In 1859, 27 years before she was born, Isabelle Simi’s family moved from Montepulciano, Italy to San Francisco, CA, and then north to Healdsburg in 1890 in search of gold. Brothers Giuseppe and Pietro failed to find the treasure, but instead, farmed the land as their family had in Italy, with grapes. They ran the Alexander Valley winery until tragedy struck and both brothers died from the flu. Giuseppe’s daughter Isabelle took over the operations in 1904. Isabelle is credited for a number of “firsts” including the first public tasting room, opened in 1934. She created a stone cellar for proper temperature storage and used the gravity flow of juice to ferment tanks, selling her wines from the cellar floor! Isabelle was also a promoter of women in wine with her hire of winemaker Mary Ann Graf, the first woman to graduate with a degree in Oenology in California in 1973. Later she hired Zelma Long, one of California’s most prominent winemakers at the time, who modernized the facility, increased production, and brought national acclaim. Today Simi continues to be led by a team of women.
Women have been evolving in their roles in the wine world, traditionally an all-male craft- Jancis Robinson, an English winemaker who went on to become a famous wine critic and author, broke through barriers to have her voice heard in the 1970’s. Here are just a few other great women in wine.
Rosa Kruger became another famous for her work in farming sustainably, agricultural biodiversity and setting new environmental standards for the industry. Rosa worked in South African viticulture in the 1970’s.
Sarah Marquis of Mollydooker in Australia created and employs the “Marquis Vineyards water program” an irrigation technique that enhances grape flavors and aromas. The Mollydooker line of wines are famous for their bold ripeness.
Elena Walch is a pioneer in Alto Adige, Italy with a commitment to sustainable viticulture, along with Arianna Occhipinti in Sicily.
Heidi Peterson Barrett famous for her many 100 point scoring wines grew up in a winemaking family in Napa. Her father was Dick Peterson. She graduated from UC Davis, and became the winemaker at Buehler Vineyards by the age of 25. Heidi had successful winemaking stints at Paradigm and Screaming Eagle, Grace, Hartwell, Barrett and Barrett, and is still at it today with her cult classic La Sirena.
Kathryn Hall Since her family first purchased a vineyard in CA in the 1970’s, Kathryn and her brother managed the family vineyard from 1981-1992 selling grapes to other wineries, as well as producing Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon under the WALT label. She continues to produce WALT and is co-proprietor of HALL with her husband Craig. Kathryn’s career began as an assistant attorney in Berkely, where she has long been committed to issues like social services and mental health. Hall’s estate vineyards encompass more than 500 acres with tasting rooms in St Helena and Rutherford. Today HALL wines are under the artisan-ship of Megan Gunderson and continue to set new heights for Napa Valley wine production.
Helen Keplinger In addition to Keplinger and Vermillion, Helen Keplinger has a long history in California wine. She attended UC Davis and worked under Heidi Barrett and Kathy Joseph at Fiddlehead before moving to Spain to make wine in Priorat.
Helen Turley is a pioneering American winemaker and consultant, known for decades as a cult classic winemaker for boutique wineries such as Marcassin, Pahlmeyer, Bryant Family, Martinelli, and eventually her own label at Turley Wine Cellars. She was one of the first to use a cold soak process, harvesting phenolically ripe fruit to make the wine as natural as possible, and ushered in the era of the super consultant in California winemaking.
Jules Taylor The pre-emanant winemaker of New Zealand, Jules literally grew up in Sauvignon Blanc. A local girl to Marlborough, Jules attained a degree in Oenology and Viticulture and after a few years of ”life affirming vintages” in Italy, she spent several years as a winemaker, and later a consultant winemaker to New Zealand’s largest winery- 8 years at Kim Crawford. In 2001, Jules and her husband George decided to quit their corporate winemaking jobs and strike out on their own. They now produce award winning boutique wines from New Zealand, farmed by hand on their own land under the Jule Taylor label.
Molly Lippitt Before striking out on her own, Molly spent 15 years working alongside many of the aforementioned winemakers, honing her craft both in the vineyards and cellar. Molly has been working with the many wineries at Nine North Company since 2012, consulting for brands such as Chasing Lions, Twenty Bench, The Bomb, Parcel 41 and Hullabaloo. This group of California wineries make varietals true to their heritage and terroir, and Nine North is celebrating Molly all month long in March for her contribution to women in wine and the wine industry. Chasing Lions varietals have all recently received over 90 points from Wine Enthusiast, and Twenty Bench Cabernet Sauvignon just garnered a score of 92 points and a Best Buy, sourced from the highest quality fruit on Sonoma and Napa.
Many of these award-winning wines are available on our shelves here at Ed’s or available to special order, and we will be featuring many of these women winemakers at our Friday night tastings all through March. Cheers to the women who continue to contribute to the wine industry!
See you soon.
By CRBrown
