We all have our romantic image of ‘Winemaker’ – stood proud on rolling hillside, in worn Timberland boots, jeans, slightly crumpled shirt and hardy jacket – and most of the time that image is male.
As the riddle
goes, a boy and his father are out for a drive when they are involved in a car
accident. The father dies at the scene, his son is alive but in critical
condition, and is rushed to hospital for surgery. When the boy arrives in
A&E, the doctor takes one look at him and says, “I can’t operate on my
son.” How is this possible? Of course, the doctor is his mother.
We are all
guilty of our assumptions, our “single stories” and gender biases, and it
doesn’t stop at doctors, firefighters, and military pilots. When I show
customers our portfolio, they will often stop at a winery and exclaim, “Oh, I
love his wines!” leaving me to gently agree that yes, her wines are indeed fantastic.
Historically this
may ring true. Wine-making is a gruelling, physical job – crushing grapes is
hard work! There are many winemaking regions where land ownership would have
been passed to the sons and not the daughters. But there are electric crushers,
and laws have changed. However, as any woman in wine will tell you, changes in
technology and law are only the beginning. Attitudes too must change. Here are
some of our favourite winemakers who are doing just that.