It is with some sadness that I read of the passing of Philippine de Rothschild a while back. Not a name you recognize? Baroness Rothschild was one of the grande dames of Bordeaux wines. Since 1988, she was chairwoman of Chateau Mouton Rothschild. Want to sample one of her wines? Better be prepared to pony up big time. In BC, a bottle runs from $1200 to $1800 for recent vintages. Forget about sampling older ones.
While women have been making inroads in the world of winemaking, it is a relatively recent phenomena. Yes, it is true that there were the early pioneers, such as Barbe-Nicole Clicquot, who ran some of the Champagne houses as early as the 1800’s, but they were the exception.
Reportedly, about ten percent of California winemakers are women, though slightly higher (12%) in Napa and Sonoma. That figure will likely increase in the near future as almost half those enrolled in the UC Davis viniculture and enology program are females. Compare those figures to Rioja, Spain, where about one third of winemakers are women.
These low numbers are a shame though, because as a rule of thumb, women have a more acute sense of smell and taste. Historically, they were the gatherers, picking, smelling and tasting to see if food was safe to eat. Men were the hunters.
What’s the situation in BC? Of the women, whose names follow, some are winery owners, co-owners, winemakers or assistant winemakers. The list is by no means complete. Things can change quickly in the wine world and some of this information may not be current – my apologies for that. In addition, I did not include those involved with making fruit and honey (mead) wines.
Trudy Heiss Gray Monk
Jennifer Molgat The View Winery
Ann Sperling Sperling Vineyards
Prudence Maher Ruby Tuesday
Judy Kingston Serendipity
Evelyn Campbell Blasted Church
Anna Manola Silver Sage
Sandra Oldfield Tinhorn Creek
Stephanie Leinemann Peller Estates
Karen Gillis Red Rooster
Sandy Leier Calona Wine
Brooke Blair Jackson-Triggs
Kathy Malone Hillside Estate
Trish Cooper Mission Hill
Severine Pinte Le Vieux Pin
Christine Leroux (various – consultant)
Nikki Callaway Quail’s Gate
Christine Coletta Haywire (Okanagan Crush Pad)
Shelly Covert Covert Farms
Sarah Cosman Unsworth Vineyards
Audralee Daum Black Cloud Winery
Alishan Driediger Little Farm Winery
Christina Ferreira Squeezed Wines
Kristy French The View Winery
Barbara Hall Chaberton Estate Winery
Marie Hebrard Hester Creek
Amber Jones C.C. Jentsch
Dr. Lorraine Kane River Stone Estate Winery
Jacqueline Kemp Moraine Estate Winery
Korol Kuklo Tinhorn Creek
Pam Luckhurst Road 13
Niva Martin La Frenz Winery
Alison Moyes Stoneboat
Mega Renae Mutch Cerelia Winery
Heidi Noble Joie Farm
Lyndsay O’Rourke Tightrope Winery
Linda Pruegger Stag’s Hollow
Julie Rennie Pentage Winery
Stella Schmidt Castoro de Oro
Kelly Symonds 3 Mile Estate Winery
Senka Tennant Lariana Cellars
Sue Thygesen Kraze Legz
Elaine Triggs Culmina Family Estate Winery
Stephanie Van Dyk Kalala Organic Winery
Kristine Witkowski Seven Directions Wine
Shauna White Road 13 Vineyards
Aura Rose House of Rose
From my inaccurate assessment, it looks like women make up close to 20% of BC’s winemakers.
I owe thanks to BC wine guru, John Schreiner (http://johnschreiner.blogspot.ca/) and Robert Bell of “Wines of Canada” for their lists of BC women in wine.
