Female Winemakers (and Wines!) We're Loving Right Now

06 November 2018

by Abbey Cook

Female Winemakers (and Wines!) We're Loving Right Now

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We love exploring new wines, and recently have been excited with those created by female winemakers.

Many of these wines are unique and delicious, but naturally made as well, adding another element of delight to each bottle you open.
There are thousands of sommeliers in the world, but only a handful of Master Sommeliers (those that study for years and go through a grueling testing process), and even fewer female ones, which is where Pascaline Lepeltier comes into play. She is one of 23 female Master Sommeliers in the U.S. and is one of the most knowledgeable wine gurus we know. She has been studying, tasting and sourcing wines for 13 years and is a strong advocate for natural and organic wines. She is also co-author to the book The Dirty Guide to Wine: Following Flavor from Ground to Glass, and was named one of the five best new US sommeliers of 2011 by Wine & Spirits magazine.

Pascaline would like to start making her own wines in the near future, but for now we were lucky enough to chat with her and get some insight and suggestions to some of the best female winemakers in the biz:

Martha Stoumen – California

After spending time working in Tuscany, Martha is now making easily drinkable, natural wines in northern California. Try one of her Post Flirtation wines that showcase her thoughtful approach to winemaking.

Red Blend: $25.00
White Blend: $25.00

Elodie Balme – France

This impressive female winemaker founded Domaine Elodie Balme at just 23 years old in the Rhone Valley. She has several wines to look for ranging in price from $15-$25.

Red Blend: $25.00

Dominique Moreau – France

Champagne can be expensive, but this is one we can get behind for $39.99, especially coming from Dominique's label, Marie Courtin. Most champagnes use a blend of grape types, but she is changing the technique by using a single variety of biodynamically grown grapes. Get your hands on one of the limited bottles while you can!

Champagne: $40.00

Arianna Occhipinti – Sicily

Based out of Sicily, Arianna is creating interesting natural wines as well as olive oil. Look out for the SP68 wines named after the road the winery is located on.

Bianco: $30.00
Rosso: $30.00

Iconic Wine - California
The one exception to the rule of this all-female power list is Iconic Wines. Even though it's created by two men, Birk O'Halloran and Karl Antle, they make the list for good reason:
The creators were into comic book heroes as kids and as they produced wine they felt the same excitement and fantasy of being a superhero come to life during the wine making process. Due to this, they feature a strong female superhero on their wine labels, both artistically and in the names, Heroine and Sidekick.
We love their Heroine wine, an unusual 100% Californian Chardonnay that doesn't have the typical oaky flavor characteristic of that grape type. Instead, it has been barrel aged, giving it a combination of high acidity and full body fruit that finishes dry. Giada enjoys it so much that she has made sure to keep Iconic's Heroine fully stocked in all three of her restaurants (Giada Vegas, Pronto by Giada and GDL Italian by Giada). The next time you dine at one of her restaurants, be sure to ask for this Iconic wine.