Women winemakers

[JBP]

Starting a thread as suggested in another conversation - curious how many women winemakers there are on this forum? I have always considered it pretty gender neutral, yet it has been noted that there is a heavy male bias here. How many of us are out there? Are there topics of interest? Different flavor profile preferences (yes - we are all individuals yet the scientist in me wonders if there are correlations or trends)?

Me? While I cherish the whole spectrum of the wine experience and variations, my go-to is a full-bodied red with a pretty strong tannin profile. Except when I crave a bone-dry, chilled Sauvignon Blanc (lakeside, summer - just thinking about it brings a smile).

 

[BMarNJ]

I’m a new winemaker and I find this forum invaluable. Over the last year and a half, I’ve made 2 Chilean cabs (juice and grape mix), a Super Tuscan kit and a California zinfandel/barbera blend (also using a juice pail and 36 lbs of grapes). I’ve certainly learned a lot and have a long way to go.
My favorite piece of advice has been to slow down and have patience with fermentation and aging.

 

[VinesnBines]

I’m in the women vineyard owner/manager/grower/winemaker group. My husband is the heavy equipment operator and vineyard hand/ cellar rat. There are many women in the vineyard/winery business in Virginia.

 

[Ignoble Grape]

Some ladies enjoy baking, others crafting. Me? I go for the grapes.

A gal's gotta have a hobby!

The funny thing is that in the wayback when (1700s - 1800s) it was the lady's responsibility for making all of the country wines and beer for the household. And when you look at etchings and drawings from harvests throughout Europe, it is deffinitely an all-hands-on-deck kind of activity. Then there were the women that kept the vineyards and winemaking alive during WWI & WWII while the men were off fighting. Today you look at hand-harvest photos from Europe and it's still a gender-neutral activity.

As for tasting profiles, I'll go for anything pretty much depending on my mood and what I'm eating. I'm finishing up a couple of certificates and drink widely. My experience is that wine lovers really don't start off with coat-your-mouth-in-tannin Barolos or nose-scrunching Finos - it's more of your friendly gateway Yellow Tails and White Zins with a little residual sugar, then slowly - oh-so-slowly - the palate expands.

 

[VinesnBines]

I bet for every grandfather that made wine there were 2 or more grandmothers who made wine. On the farm, the men did the heaviest work and the women took care of the garden, the household stock (animals- cows, pigs, chickens, ducks) and made the beer and or wine. Of course in my Grandmother’s Baptist eyes the wine was only for medicinal purposes. My Dad and his brothers never knew about the wine but my aunts did. Including the one who dosed herself a little too much one Sunday morning. Her sisters had to stand real close on each side in church because she was swaying.

 

[JohnT]

Seems to me that any lady that "goes for the grapes" has her priorities straight!

 

[Ignoble Grape]

I bet for every grandfather that made wine there were 2 or more grandmothers who made wine. On the farm, the men did the heaviest work and the women took care of the garden, the household stock (animals- cows, pigs, chickens, ducks) and made the beer and or wine. Of course in my Grandmother’s Baptist eyes the wine was only for medicinal purposes. My Dad and his brothers never knew about the wine but my aunts did. Including the one who dosed herself a little too much one Sunday morning. Her sisters had to stand real close on each side in church because she was swaying.

That is a FANTASTIC image - of course it was medicinal.

 

[Dkrmwiz]

What else was I gonna do with those sand plums? Make jelly or jam? Making wine is more fun

 

[ZebraB]

Completely agree wine making is much more fun to make and drink.

 

[JBP]

Family story here that I cannot quite figure out is the teetotaler great grandmother who "wasted" the wine grapes from their farm by making and storing simple grape juice (much to the chagrin of some distant family members). That said, she pressed the grapes for grape juice and stored in the cellar for throughout the winter. And the chances of these grapes not fermenting from wild yeasts during this time? Maybe not so much a teetotaler...

And for sure, her great grand-daughter is having much more fun with grapes and grape juice.

 

[DizzyIzzy]

Starting a thread as suggested in another conversation - curious how many women winemakers there are on this forum? I have always considered it pretty gender neutral, yet it has been noted that there is a heavy male bias here. How many of us are out there? Are there topics of interest? Different flavor profile preferences (yes - we are all individuals yet the scientist in me wonders if there are correlations or trends)?

Me? While I cherish the whole spectrum of the wine experience and variations, my go-to is a full-bodied red with a pretty strong tannin profile. Except when I crave a bone-dry, chilled Sauvignon Blanc (lakeside, summer - just thinking about it brings a smile).

I am a woman, hear me roar......................Count me in.......................................DizzyIzzy

 

[winemaker81]

My widowed grandmother made whiskey, back in the 1920's - 1950's. My dad tells a story that she was in the kitchen -- she'd made caramel and was coloring her whiskey and was about half done. A visitor arrived and she offered him a whiskey, showing a bottle of clear liquid she had not yet colored. [IIRC, she put her whiskey in used whiskey bottles.]

"No, no. I won't drink that stuff." No 'shine for him! So she reached into the cupboard and pulled out a bottle she had just colored. Yes, same batch. The visitor loved it.

My experience is that wine lovers really don't start off with coat-your-mouth-in-tannin Barolos or nose-scrunching Finos - it's more of your friendly gateway Yellow Tails and White Zins with a little residual sugar, then slowly - oh-so-slowly - the palate expands.

This describes my niece. A relative had terminal cancer and we were taking care of her over a long weekend. I brought a few bottles of red, and my niece tried them -- she was a white zin and sweet cocktail drinker, but was game to try. A year later and she was a confirmed red wine drinker. Sure, she'll still drink her old standbys, especially with her non-red drinking friends. But her wine rack is 90% reds.
She's not a wine maker (yet), but used to help her dad. If distance wasn't an issue, she'd be helping me.

 

[VinesnBines]

Wine preferences have to develop. Some people refuse to try drier reds and stay forever drinking sweet whites or dessert wines. My tastes have developed so much, I want a red so dry, you have to drink water after.

 

[berend1]

I'm in the women wine making group. Started with wild grapes, moved to fruit wines and on to the kits. Been at this hobby for 15 years. I have the whole family invoked. I love reading this site, there is so much valuable information.

 

[winemaker81]

Wine preferences have to develop. Some people refuse to try drier reds and stay forever drinking sweet whites or dessert wines.

Very true. Others just never develop the taste. My wife has never learned to like reds, and she doesn't like sweet wines, either. Gewurztraminer and Sauvignon Blanc are her preferred wines. And sparkling Vouvray, when we can find it.

 

[Hair of the dog]

I love making wine! We have all this fruit on our property the kid's are grown and would rather have wine than jelly. We have gotten pretty good at it. Scuppernong, Muscadine, Pear, Blackberry, Blueberry, Peach, Strawberry, Persimmon. Triple Berry, ( blackberry, blueberry, razzberry) and have a Kumquat brewing. I have done a Crue from a kit that was amazing. I'm working on more mixed fruit ( plum's Blueberry, black cherry, razzberry, I would love to know if anyone has mix there own fruit and spices. I want to learn to do more cabernet sauvignon type blend. Any help would be appreciated. ( I use recycled bottles) I tell my kids you get a full one for each empty . They keep me supplied with bottles sterilize and new cork

 

[sour_grapes]

I love making wine! We have all this fruit on our property the kid's are grown and would rather have wine than jelly. We have gotten pretty good at it. Scuppernong, Muscadine, Pear, Blackberry, Blueberry, Peach, Strawberry, Persimmon. Triple Berry, ( blackberry, blueberry, razzberry) and have a Kumquat brewing. I have done a Crue from a kit that was amazing. I'm working on more mixed fruit ( plum's Blueberry, black cherry, razzberry, I would love to know if anyone has mix there own fruit and spices. I want to learn to do more cabernet sauvignon type blend. Any help would be appreciated. ( I use recycled bottles) I tell my kids you get a full one for each empty . They keep me supplied with bottles sterilize and new cork

Welcome to WMT!

 

[franc1969]

I am in the group of women winemakers as well. I tend not to put that out there, since some forums are full of ...something... when it comes to women. Years ago I worked at a fermentation plant, this is so much easier than growing E.coli in quantity.

 

[hounddawg]

I am in the group of women winemakers as well. I tend not to put that out there, since some forums are full of ...something... when it comes to women. Years ago I worked at a fermentation plant, this is so much easier than growing E.coli in quantity.

you mean male slovenliest pigs, seems to me women usually have a better knack for finer details on stuff like this,
Dawg

 

[dizzy]

I'm making the wine in our relationship, although my (male) partner is sort of showing me the ropes. He made terrific meads and ciders for a few years before we met, hasn't started again since although is considering to for our wedding/whatever we call it. Little more of sweet tooth than me, I like things super dry.