RAISE A GLASS
I’m raising a glass this week to all women involved in the world of wine.
I’m especially saying “cheers” to lady winemakers everywhere as part of International Women’s Day (IWD), which was on Wednesday. I’ve been lucky enough to meet several in reallife, via video links, or by experiencing their imaginations via wine in a glass.
Marian Santamaria crafts the fruitily aromatic Spanish white Beronia Rueda (RRP £10, Waitrose, Ocado. She says IWD “gives us an opportunity to showcase our work and share our passion for what we do”.
Emma Wood, the McLaren Vale winemaker behind Wirra Wirra Church Block 2020 (RRP £14, Waitrose, Tesco, Ocado) has taken cabernet sauvignon, shiraz, and merlot to make a blackfruited gem. Emma says of her role: “For me it is the perfect balance of practicality, art, and science.”
High Five to Wirra Wirra, too, whose winemaking team is 75% women and 25% of the cellar crew are women.
Katherin Jankowiec, production winemaker at Villa Maria in Marlborough, worked on the passion fruit ribboned Villa Maria Private Bin
Sauvignon Blanc 2022 (RRP £12.80, Majestic, Morrisons, Asda, Sainsburys, Tesco, Waitrose). She arrived in New Zealand from Germany 15 years ago and never went home.
Katherin says: “I did my first harvest and it was awesome fun. Every day, I felt excited to go to work.”
María Larrea is the fourth winemaker at CVNE, a winery with over 140 years of history in Rioja. She is the creative behind the peach and citrusscented Cune Rosado 2021 (£8.50, the Co-op). I asked her what she would say to other women who would like to follow in her footsteps.
“If they really like this profession, I would certainly encourage them to become a winemaker,” María says.
“The vineyard and the wine have a great cultural part, and the connection to people and nature is great. It is a very satisfying profession.”
I also love the story of Jo Nash, chief winemaker at McPherson Wines.
Jo discovered a single vineyard in a remote part of the Victoria region in Australia. The grapes were out of budget, but Jo loved them and bought them without running it byy ‘Gary’ the accountant. Hence the name of the full-bodied red Don’t
Tell Gary Shiraz 2019 (right, RRP £16.99 at Laithwaites).
Go girls!
■ Jane is a member of the Circle of Wine Writers. Find her on social media and online as One Foot in the Grapes.