Women in Wine

In celebration of International Women’s Day on Saturday, March 8, we’re proud to offer these 23 wines, produced in many of the most famous regions of the world and bearing some of wine’s most prestigious names. This feature highlights some of the trailblazers who have helped redefine the role of women in winemaking, as well as up-and-comers whose skill and dedication are an essential part of the continued evolution of premium wine.

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Patricia Balbás.

Susana Balbo & Ana Lovaglio Balbo: SUSANA BALBO WINES

Innovation and inspiration

FROM LEFT: Ana Lovaglio Balbo and Susana Balbo.

Susana Balbo was Argentina’s first female oenologist, graduating with honours (and at the top of her class) from Don Bosco University, in Mendoza, in 1981. Her storied career has been instrumental in defining the Argentine premium-wine industry, and she was recently the recipient of the 2024 Decanter Hall of Fame Award. Considered a fearless innovator, Balbo takes an approach to winemaking that combines traditional and experimental methods, and she has said, “there’s no failure, only experiences.”

Balbo’s daughter, Ana Lovaglio Balbo, began working with her mother in 2012. Lovaglio Balbo established the company’s enotourism business, opening the Osadía de Crear restaurant and the Susana Balbo Unique Stays luxury hotel. In keeping with the sustainability initiatives her mother employs in the vineyards, Lovaglio Balbo’s ventures are also robustly sustainable. The SB Winemaker’s House & Spa Suites was awarded the coveted Silver Certification by the Hoteles Más Verdes program. Working with Flavia Amad, who is the Michelin recommended executive chef at La Vida and Osadía de Crear, Lovaglio Balbo creates opportunities for female chefs through winery pop-up events.

Dr. Laura Catena: CATENA ZAPATA

Renaissance woman

A fourth-generation winemaker, Dr. Laura Catena graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1988 and earned her medical doctor degree from Stanford University. She began working with her father, the iconic Nicolás Catena Zapata, at the family winery in 1995. She opened her own winery, Luca Wines, in 1999, naming the operation after her first son. The project was inspired by Catena’s desire to explore the potential of old-vine Malbec in the Uco Valley. She founded the Catena Institute of Wine in 1995 to study “every meter, every rock, every insect and micro-organism in the Adrianna Vineyard.”

The potential of the Adrianna Vineyard was first identified by her father as part of his high-altitude wine revolution, and it may very well be the most intensely studied vineyard in the world. Author of Vino Argentino: An Insider’s Guide to the Wines and Wine Country of Argentina, Catena was also a working pediatric emergency department doctor until 2019, when she became managing director of Catena Zapata. When she’s at home in San Francisco, she volunteers her medical skills at a clinic for those experiencing homelessness.

Margarita Koumpiou: KIR-YIANNI

Digging deep

Margarita Koumpiou holds an integrated master’s degree in crop science as well as an honours M.A. in oenology and a diploma in food and beverage quality management. She is now oenologist at Kir-Yianni, where she works closely with chief oenologist Stellios Boutaris, a fifth-generation winemaker and a leading voice in modern Greek viticulture. Koumpiou oversees Kir-Yianni’s Naoussa vineyards, where she works with Xinomavro and plays a significant role in Kir-Yianni’s extensive vineyard-research program; one of the largest such programs in Greece.

The team has identified many intriguing microclimates and has a focus on renewing the region’s ungrafted pre-phylloxera Xinomavro vines. Kir-Yianni is the only Greek winery that’s a member of the International Wineries for Climate Action.

Andrea Perez Castillo: FLAT ROCK CELLARS

A world of experience

Andrea Perez Castillo’s first vintage for Niagara’s Flat Rock was the 2023 growing season, but that was by no means her initiation into the world of winemaking. Originally from Zacatecas, Mexico, she first encountered wine while visiting Mexico’s strikingly beautiful Parras Valley wine region with her family. Though small and essentially unknown outside of Mexico, the Parras Valley is home to the oldest winery in the Americas: Casa Madero, which was founded in 1597.

Castillo attended the University of Zacatecas, becoming an agronomic engineer and earned a master’s degree in oenology and viticulture from the Polytechnic University of Madrid, Spain. Castillo’s career has included many notable stops around the world, including in her native Mexico, where she worked at Casa Madero and Vinos Tierra Adentro. Her resume also includes Cederberg Wines in South Africa, where she worked with the highest-elevation plantings in the Western Cape; Viña Ventisquero in Chile; and New Zealand’s iconic Oyster Bay.

Kelly Mason: DOMAINE QUEYLUS

Living the dream

Born and raised in Montreal, Kelly Mason has a B.Sc. from Western University, an International M.B.A. from the Schulich School of Business at York University, and a viticultural degree from Brock University. Her wine career began in 2007 with an internship at Saintsbury Winery in the Carneros subregion of Napa Valley. She specializes in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and her work in Ontario included stints with such notables as Tawse Winery and Le Clos Jordanne before she joined Thomas Bachelder at Queylus in 2013, where she has been the principal winemaker since 2016.

Some of the fruit for Domaine Queylus’s wines is sourced from the 30-year-old vines of her eponymous Mason Vineyard in Twenty Mile Bench. Creating single-vineyard estate wines has always been her dream, and Mason Vineyard, which she purchased in 2012, allows her to do just that. Originally focused on creating small-batch, single-vineyard, wild-ferment expressions of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc, Mason released her first Mason Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon in 2021.

Emma Garner: THIRTY BENCH

Small lots, big achievements

It says something about the Niagara terroir that Emma Garner, after travelling and experiencing the food and wines of Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany and British Columbia, decided to put down roots and make wines here. A graduate of Brock University’s oenology and viticulture program, Garner began her work in Niagara at the tasting bar at Inniskillin Wines before moving to Trius Winery and finally to Thirty Bench in 2005, where she worked for five years learning the ins and outs of the Beamsville Bench before becoming the winemaker.

Thirty Bench’s small-lot approach to winemaking appealed greatly to her, as did their focus on Riesling and Bordeaux varieties. Garner has earned many accolades, including being named Ontario Wine Awards Winemaker of the Year in 2015 and earning the prestigious Best in Show honours in the 2018 Decanter World Wine Awards for her Small Lot Cabernet Franc 2015; the first time a premium Canadian wine had won this award.

Katie Dickieson: ANDREW PELLER

Homegrown talent

Growing up on a farm seeded Katie Dickieson’s interest in agriculture at a very young age. Becoming a winemaker was not necessarily on her radar, but the excitement and energy of the harvest definitely called to her. Studying food science at the University of Guelph exposed Dickieson to winemaking, revealing a discipline that melded science, agriculture and creativity in an irresistible combination. A career in wine also made it possible to work while she travelled the world.

In 2006, Dickieson began her career with Peller Estates Winery in Niagara before moving to the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia to work as a winemaker. She then spent some time learning about cool-climate Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah and Bordeaux varieties in New Zealand working at Omihi Hills in Waipara on the South Island and Man O’War Vineyards on Waiheke Island off the east coast of the North Island. She also held a position at Domaine du Monteillet, Vignobles Montez in France’s Rhône Valley before returning to Niagara. Dickieson has been the winemaker at Peller Estates since 2012.

Jessica Otting: TAWSE WINERY

A lifelong passion

Though Jessica Otting didn’t graduate from Niagara College’s winery and viticulture program until 2011, she had already worked her first vintage as part of a high-school placement. After her college graduation, Otting worked harvests in South Australia and Tasmania before joining Tawse as a laboratory analyst. For nearly four years, she worked closely with the Tawse winemaking team to help create the top-tier cool-climate Bench wines that have made Tawse’s excellent reputation.

She became assistant winemaker in 2018, and shortly after, as distiller, was instrumental in the addition of spirits to the Tawse portfolio. In 2020, Otting assumed the role of winemaker for Tawse and Redstone wineries. The Tawse Sketches Cabernet/Merlot 2021 showcases her deft hand. This Bordeaux-inspired blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc carries itself with considerable elegance and refinement. Crafted in what was a challenging vintage for Bordeaux varieties in Niagara, the blend showcases each of its component parts without losing step with the overall harmony of the wine.

María Barúa: BODEGAS LAN

An eye for detail

María Barúa has a background in chemistry and oenology and has taken part in several research projects studying how the colour of Rioja’s red wines change through barrel ageing. Barúa joined Rioja’s famed LAN in 2002 and has been the technical director since 2007. She’s renowned for her precision and detailed approach, paying close attention to the smallest factors in the vineyard and the winery that can influence a wine.

In her time as technical director, many of LAN’s most unique expressions have been created under her guidance. These include the several new 100% Tempranillo expressions; the LAN 7 Metros, which is aged in oak barrels made from Spanish oak with at least seven metres of trunk clear of branches and knots; the LAN D-12, which is a special tank selection; and the organic LAN Xtrème. Her goal is always to achieve a faithful reflection of the vineyards and individual parcels used to make LAN’s wines.

Barbara Widmer: BRANCAIA

Building for the future

Barbara Widmer, daughter of Brancaia founders Brigitte and Bruno Widmer, has been the winemaker at the celebrated Chianti Classico-based Brancaia since 1998. Widmer began her studies with an eye towards becoming an architect, but her roots were in the vineyards, and she found herself drawn back to the family business and so obtained a degree in oenology. Her focus on terroir and a rigorous selection process allowed her to identify vineyard sites and parcels that provided opportunities to create new and nuanced expressions.

Under her guidance, Brancaia began to craft wines from Maremma as well as Chianti, and her terroir-focused approach allowed Brancaia’s portfolio to increase from two wines to nine. As of 2015, Brancaia is an organic producer. Widmer has now been joined by her daughter, Nina; and her son, Nicolas, taking this family-run operation into its third generation.

Françoise Antech: ANTECH

Extended family

Françoise Antech represents the sixth generation of the Antech family to craft wines from their vineyards in Limoux. Antech took over the reins from her father, Georges, in 1996 and raised the profile of this century-old estate, ensuring that it had a place and a future in the dynamic, challenging environment of modern French winemaking. Georges and his brother Roger had made the decision in 1965 to focus only on sparkling wines, working diligently to create ever more authentic expressions.

Picking up where her father and uncle left off, Antech has moved the quality needle considerably. She infuses similar energy and effort into several social and cultural initiatives in Limoux, supporting programs that assist students and the unemployed as well as sponsoring musical programs and concerts.

Elena Brooks: SISTER'S RUN WINE COMPANY

Coming out on top down under

Elena Brooks made her first wine, a Chardonnay, at the age of 16. Shortly after, this native of Bulgaria left home to study viniculture in Australia, earning a B.Sc. in oenology from the University of Adelaide. Though Australia remains her adopted viticultural home, she has crafted wines in Spain, Italy and Bulgaria. Brooks has a long list of accolades that includes being part of the team that crafted the Geoff Merrill Reserve Shiraz 2004; a wine that was awarded Australia’s highest winemaking award, the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy, in 2005.

Her wines have also taken honours at The Great Australian Shiraz Challenge, the Decanter World Wine Awards, the Royal Brisbane Wine Show, and the Barossa Wine Show. In 2017, Brooks became the first winemaker to win back-to-back Best in Show trophies at the AWC Vienna. Much in demand, Brooks crafts wines for several leading Australian producers, managing the production of more than 60 wines including those she makes for Dandelion Vineyards and Heirloom Vineyards. At Sister’s Run, Brooks oversees a talented all-female team, including vigneronne Anthea Pridmore, who grew the grapes used to craft the Epiphany 2022.

Jamie Williams: NEDERBURG

The science of winemaking

A native of Cape Town, Jamie Williams was working towards a B.Sc. specializing in molecular biology and biotechnology at Stellenbosch University when her studies introduced her to wine through a module that focused on wine biotechnology. This sparked an interest that saw her travel to California following graduation, where she gained invaluable international and hands-on experience. Her work in South Africa has included stints as a laboratory analyst at Die Bergkelder and as a harvest cellar intern.

She joined the Nederburg team in 2018 as the assistant winemaker for their white wine program and was named head of the program in 2024. Among her many achievements, the Winemasters Noble Late Harvest 2023, a blend of Chenin Blanc and Muscat de Frontignan, earned a score of 98 points and won the Investec Trophy for Best Dessert Wine at the 2024 Trophy Wine Show. As dynamic and energetic as the wines she makes, Williams embodies an excitement and dedication that will see the 234-year-old Nederburg continue to be a force in South Africa’s wine landscape.

Viviana Navarrete: LEYDA WINES

Leading by example

Viviana Navarrete has been the chief winemaker at Leyda Wines since 2007 and quickly established herself as a significant player in the new wave of dynamic winemakers who redefined Chilean premium wine over the last 15-20 years. Navarrete’s expertise with cool-climate grapes combines with her knowledge of and experience with the unique conditions found in the Leyda Valley. She has established Leyda as a go-to producer for complex, elegant, characterful wines of indisputable authenticity.

Under her stewardship, Leyda developed and released its first traditional-method sparkling wine in 2012. Her innovative and experimental approach saw her named one of Chile’s top 10 winemakers in 2013. Other international accolades include being named one of the best Pinot Noir winemakers in Chile by Wine Spectator in 2017 and being chosen as one of the 10 leading women in the wine industry by Wine Enthusiast in 2018.

Kristen McMahan: GOLDENEYE WINERY

Rising star

Kristen McMahan fell in love with wine during a six-month spell in Australia while studying communications and journalism at the University of Arizona. After graduation, she worked at the Second Harvest food rescue organization and with several other non-profits, all the while developing her palate and exposing herself to as much information as possible through visits to wineries in Napa Valley, Sonoma County, Anderson Valley, Oregon and Washington.

In 2012, McMahan moved to Sonoma County, working with the winemaking team at Korbel and focusing on Pinot Noir and sparkling wines. She also spent time at Joseph Phelps’s Freestone Vineyards on the Sonoma Coast, gaining critical hands-on experience with cool-climate Pinot. Now committed full-time to wine, she earned an associate of science degree in oenology from Santa Rosa Junior College. She joined Goldeneye Winery in 2019, quickly advancing from oenologist to assistant winemaker to winemaker. Today, McMahan oversees three estate vineyards comprising more than 140 acres, 20 unique clones, and more than 100 individual parcels. Her small-lot approach has made her a talent to watch.

Renée Ary: DUCKHORN VINEYARDS

Game-changer

Renée Ary holds degrees in chemistry and art from Saint Mary’s College of California and studied winemaking at UC Davis and Napa Valley College. After working in the laboratory of Robert Mondavi Winery for four years, Ary joined Duckhorn in 2003, working with winemaker Mark Beringer. Beringer was instrumental in providing Ary with a complete, rounded understanding of farming and viticulture. Over the next 11 years, she worked as a lab manager, oenologist and assistant winemaker, becoming associate winemaker in charge of Duckhorn’s Sauvignon Blanc and Monitor Ledge Vineyard wines before being named Duckhorn’s winemaker in 2014.

Among her many accomplishments, certainly one of the most significant came in 2017 when Wine Spectator awarded Duckhorn’s Three Palms Vineyard Merlot 2014 a rating of 95 points. This was an exciting achievement, as no Merlot had earned a rating like this from Wine Spectator since 1997. High praise indeed, but wait; the wine was also ranked #1 in the 2017 Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines. Not a bad debut by any measure.

Kimberlee Nicholls: MARKHAM VINEYARDS

A taste for quality

Kimberlee Nicholls was one of the Napa Valley’s first female winemakers. She came to Napa in 1989, working as a laboratory technician at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, where then-winemaker John Gibson identified her exceptional aptitude for tasting. It wasn’t long before Nicholls was named Stag’s Leap’s lab director. In 1993, she joined the historic Markham Vineyards as oenologist.

While establishing Markham’s laboratory program, she honed her skills working in the vineyard and in the winery, becoming associate winemaker in 1997. She was elevated to the position of winemaker in 2001. Markham has a long, storied history of producing top-flight Napa Merlot; a variety that just happens to be one that Nicholls is particularly fond of. Working with Nicholls at Markham is an all-women team made up of assistant winemaker Abigail Estrada, oenologist Patricia Sciacca, viticulturist Taylor Abudi, director of operations Adrienne Uboldi, and health, safety and sustainability manager Sara Lanning.

Leslie Renaud & Raemy Paterson: MARTIN RAY VINEYARDS & WINERY

Dynamic duo

Director of winemaking Leslie Renaud began her wine career as a lab technician at Ironstone Vineyards, and her resume includes stops at Clos du Bois, Sonoma Creek Wines, Hans Fahden Vineyards, Bonny Doon Vineyard, and Talley Vineyards. In 2010, she joined the Foley Wine Group and served as winemaker for Lincourt Vineyards and Foley Estates.

FROM LEFT: Leslie Renaud and Raemy Paterson.

In 2014, Renaud assumed the position of director of winemaking at Roth Estate Winery, and then worked as winemaker for Purple Brands before joining Martin Ray. Winemaker Raemy Paterson holds a B.Sc. in viticulture and oenology with a minor in French from UC Davis. The daughter of a flight attendant and a wine connoisseur, Paterson had a childhood filled with trips to Italy, where she often got lost amid the vineyards. This early exposure to wine travel continued following her graduation. She has worked in Bordeaux, Provence and the Barossa Valley, with stops at California wineries Mumm Napa, Ridge Vineyards, Lytton Springs and Jordan Vineyard & Winery. As winemaker at Martin Ray, she crafts wines that allow the vineyards to shine through.

Elisabetta Gnudi Angelini: ALTESINO

Tuscan visionary

Elisabetta Gnudi Angelini is one of the most influential people in Italian wine. She owns four Tuscan wine estates: Borgo Scopeto in Chianti Classico, Doga delle Clavule in Maremma, and neighbouring Montalcino estates Altesino and Caparzo. Angelini grew up in Rome and studied finance at university before beginning a career in film. She married Paolo Angelini of Italy’s leading pharmaceutical family, returning to university to study oenology and agriculture following his death.

Angelini acquired Altesino in 2002, outbidding France’s Château Margaux. Altesino is thought to be the first (and perhaps only) Montalcino estate to age its wines in French barriques, and they now also use Slavonian oak. Though the influence of both types of oak gives the wines an unmistakable and unique character, they retain their definitive minerality. Angelini’s wines are a formidable combination of innovation and modernity crafted without sacrificing the traditional tenets that have defined the wines of Tuscany and made it one of the most beloved wine regions in the world.

Albiera, Alessia & Allegra Antinori: ANTINORI

Unrivalled siblings

There are precious few family businesses that can trace their origins back five generations, let alone 26. Antinori dates its involvement in wine to 1385, and the strength of Antinori today is, as it has always been, family. President Albiera Antinori’s interest in architecture was instrumental in guiding the design of Antinori’s new Chianti Classico winery, headquarters and museum, all of which opened in 2012. Vice-President Alessia Antinori is the driving force behind the sparkling wine brand Montenisa, in Franciacorta.

FROM LEFT : Albiera, Piero, Allegra and Alessia Antinori.

She also oversees the extensive collection of paintings, ceramics, photographs, and antique manuscripts of the Antinori Art Project, which is housed in the family’s Antinori nel Chianti Classico museum. Vice-president Allegra Antinori is responsible for the family’s restaurants in New York, Moscow, Vienna, Zurich and Chianti. All three sisters travel extensively, serving as global ambassadors for the family’s wines.

Cristina Mariani-May: BANFI

Fearless commitment

After earning degrees from Georgetown University and Columbia University’s graduate school of business, Cristina Mariani-May joined Banfi in 1993. In her time at Banfi, she has spearheaded many initiatives, including being a driving force behind the research Banfi had begun in the 1980s to identify the finest clones of Sangiovese, and overseeing a seven-year trial to develop hybrid fermentation vessels.

These patented 4,600-gallon tanks are one-third steel and two-thirds wood, balancing the flavour influence and aeration of oak with the temperature control, ease of use and hygiene of stainless steel. Introduced in 2007, they’re now used for the estate’s Brunellos and single-vineyard Cabernets, Merlots and Syrahs. Mariani-May assumed the role of CEO and president of Banfi in 2018, the same year she was named Woman of the Year by The Drinks Business. The third generation of her family to oversee Banfi, Mariani-May streamlined Banfi’s portfolio, reducing production from two-million cases to 300,000. While many in the industry believed her radical moves were a mistake, her bold strategy has already proven effective and infused this iconic producer with exciting new energy.

Angela Velenosi: VELENOSI

Unstoppable

Though not from a wine background, Angela Velenosi was determined to see the Piceno region, and the wines that she loved, become celebrated and introduced to a broader audience. Undaunted by her lack of experience, she dove in, founding her company in 1984, learning and improving as she went, making mistakes, adapting and evolving all the time, relying on hard work and determination to win through. And win through she has, establishing both her own reputation and that of the Sangiovese and Montepulciano wines from the region she loves.

Velenosi is one of only a handful of women to be named president of a wine consortium; namely the Consortium of Piceno Wines, a group of more than 40 producers. Velenosi’s daughter, Marianna, was born in 1993. Raised in the winery, she officially joined the family business in 2019.

Chiara Lungarotti & Teresa Severini: LUNGAROTTI

Sister act

FROM LEFT: Teresa Severini and Chiara Lungarotti.

Chiara Lungarotti first joined the family business in the 1990s, working closely with her father, Giorgio, who founded the winery in the early 1960s. Lungarotti became CEO following Giorgio’s passing in 1999. She has proven to be a dynamic, entrepreneurial proprietor. Through a keen application of innovative techniques and technologies, she has been instrumental in continuing the reputation of Umbria’s most famous wine estate, establishing new benchmarks for quality within the Lungarotti portfolio.

Director of marketing and communication, Teresa Severini holds a degree in oenology from the Agricolture University of Perugia and a specialization from the Institute d’Oenologie de l’Université de Bordeaux. She was one of Italy’s first female winemakers. In 1988, she founded Le Donne del Vino with 20 other female wine professionals. This association works to raise awareness of the leading role many women play in the Italian wine industry and now has more than 750 members. Today, she is Lungarotti’s marketing and communications manager.

Patricia & María Balbás: BODEGAS BALBÁS

The legend continues

In 2024, Juan José Balbás and Clara de la Fuente turned over control of one of Spain’s oldest wineries, the historic Bodegas Balbás, to their daughters, Patricia and María. The sisters represent the seventh generation of the family to run the winery, which has been passed down from generation to generation since Abundio Balbás first began making wines from his own vineyards in 1777.

FROM LEFT: Patricia and María Balbás.

This transition comes at a time when the Ribera del Duero region is experiencing a renewed focus on quality and terroir expression, particularly within the area known as the Golden Diamond, which shows the potential to become a major region in Spain. Patricia and María Balbás have set their sights on ensuring that Bodegas Balbás is at the forefront of this exciting time. They now oversee 140 hectares of vineyards, many planted with vines up to 100 years old, and their commitment to using only their own grapes and keeping every aspect of the winemaking in-house will ensure the continued authenticity of Bodegas Balbás’s wines.

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