Why not find out more about the industry s women winemakers?
- Credit: Flagship Wines
The number of women in prominent positions in all areas of the wine trade is slowly increasing all the time with many women wine buyers throughout the trade: CEOs of companies, independent wine merchant director-owners (and I am proud to be one), although it is still a very chauvinistic trade in some sectors.
To mark International Women s Day on March 8, I d like to take a look at another group who are increasingly making their mark and these are the winemakers whose skills and expertise are reflected in the quality wines we see on our shelves.
Some delicious examples are made by Rebecca Willson, the winemaker at Bremerton wines in Langhorne Creek, South Australia. Her Scottish family heritage is borne out by the names of the wines such as the Selkirk Shiraz which is an excellent Shiraz that has a rich spicy flavour with a hint of pepper and a long, lingering finish that matches well with haggis.
This grape in the Rhone Valley, known as the Syrah here, has a similar lovely complex ripe berry fruit and peppery spice notes with more structure from slightly more obvious tannins.
Look out for wines such as Cotes du Rhone Villages wines that are aromatic and full of flavours of raspberries, blackberries and blueberries on the palate. This is also true for wines such as the Esk Valley Syrah from Hawkes Bay with lingering notes of spicy stewed plums and underlying complexities of dark chocolate, savoury mushrooms and spicy prunes.