History

Women and WiNE

Throughout history women have played a significant role in growing the wine industry.   Women have owned wineries, been winemakers, and viticulturalists.  This section identifies a few of the women who served as an inspiration and plowed the paths that the women of today follow. 

Quotable Quotes

"Historically, the wine trade has been a male profession, though the balance is shifting as more women choose careers in the wine industry," says Mohr, co-owner of the Boulder Wine Merchant, in Boulder, Colorado.

Andrea Immer, president of the Sommelier Society of America's Eastern region, agrees. "The last 40 years have witnessed the genuine emergence of women in the wine profession, as sommeliers in the restaurant dining room, as chefs in the professional kitchen, as educators and writers, and as winemakers."

"I don’t believe women in the wine industry need special treatment. You can perceive discrimination wherever you are; it’s how you look at things. Women succeed in male-dominated industries everywhere, including the wine world - look at Bordeaux, with strong women like Corinne Mentzelopoulos running Châteaux Margaux. My mother, Diana, was a wonderful woman, and a great role model. She was a physiotherapist with six children. When she became a winemaker, she was the first woman to win a trophy at the Perth Wine Show with her '81 Sauvignon Blanc."  Kim Maxwell, South Africa's Woman Winemaker of the year.