Our Women in Wine collection celebrates female winemakers and estate owners from around the world, from pioneers who have reshaped their regions to newer names making their mark.
Women have always been part of winemaking, but for a long time they rarely got the credit, the land or the top jobs. That's changing. Many of the most exciting estates we work with are now run by women, and plenty of them are leading the way on organic and biodynamic farming, low-intervention winemaking and mentoring the next generation.
We've stocked wines from brilliant female producers since we first opened, and we have our favourites. Here are five we think you should know.
Sybille Kuntz grows Riesling on some of the Mosel's most highly regarded sites, which were already rated among the region's best in the early 1800s, when the Mosel was under French rule. Some of her vines were planted in the 1920s, on slopes as steep as 70% above the river, where the Devonian slate makes them work hard for every drop of water.
Her aim has always been to make Riesling that's true to these vineyards, and her striking bottles are colour-coded by ripeness. The green Qualitätswein shows ripe green fruit, the blue Kabinett reflects the slate, and the gold Spätlese captures fully ripe berries. Her Organic Orange Riesling is a more recent addition, and a great introduction to skin-contact wine.
Brigitte Chevalier founded Domaine de Cébène in 2007, high in the hills of Faugères in the Haut-Languedoc, and it has earned more praise with every vintage. Her organically farmed, terraced vineyards look out over the Mediterranean coast on one side, with the Pyrenees and Mont Canigou in the distance.
Rather than making one house style, Brigitte sets out to show the different sides of her terroir. The range runs from the fruit-forward Ex Arena and the easy-drinking À la Venvole to the full-bodied Les Bancels and the rich, age-worthy Felgaria, so there's something for every taste.
Gina Giugni: the biodynamic force behind Lady of the Sunshine
Edna Valley, California, USA
Gina Giugni grew up around farming and winemaking, and she launched Lady of the Sunshine in 2017, built on the regenerative, organic and biodynamic methods she learned from her father. Her 6.5-acre Chene vineyard sits in the Edna Valley on California's Central Coast.
Gina's goal is to make fresh, fun wines that are easy to love, with a simple philosophy: know your farmer. The labels are just as personal. The artwork is based on hand-stitched 1950s embroideries, her mother's handwriting appears on the cork, and the rest of the script and doodles are Gina's own.
Judith Beck's winery is in the village of Gols, close to Lake Neusiedl, which moderates the climate and makes it a superb spot for growing grapes. She took over the family estate in 2004, converted it to organic farming and then to biodynamics in 2007. She now lives among her vines, and that close relationship with the vineyard shows in every bottle.
"International style can be produced by everyone, everywhere. My wines are my own."
Her Ink, with its flowing ink drawing of a squid on the label, is a blend of Zweigelt and St. Laurent. It's fresh, with vivid sour cherry fruit and a lovely touch of spice on the finish.
Patrizia Felluga comes from one of Friuli's great winemaking families. Her father is the renowned Marco Felluga, and in 2001 she founded her own estate, Zuani, in the heart of Collio, where she works alongside her children, Antonio and Caterina.
For all her reputation, Patrizia is famously down to earth, and the family's focus is simple: wines that express exactly where they come from. Zuani's seven hectares are planted with Friulano, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay and Sauvignon, with vines between 15 and 40 years old. Together they make the Collio Bianco blend, alongside the exceptional Sodevo Ribolla Gialla.
The best way to support these producers is simple: drink their wines and share their stories. From precise Mosel Riesling to structured Languedoc reds and biodynamic Californian whites, our Women in Wine collection brings together some of the most talented winemakers we know.
