Every day is a celebration of the skill and dedication of women in the wine industry. While their talents are revered in places where their wines are greatly appreciated. Yet, International Women’s Day offers an opportunity to bring their names and wines to the forefront. There is no better possible way to appreciate them than to branch out and try their wines!
To shine the spotlight on these women in wine, our team has selected ten wines to showcase these women’s talent, dedication and legacy.
Here in part one, we will feature 5 female driving forces behind the estate from Champagne to Australia.
Champagne Bruno Paillard, Première Cuvée Extra-Brut NV, Champagne, France
Owner: Alice Paillard
Alice, the daughter of Bruno Paillard, joined her father in 2007. Having worked in the vineyards, the cellar, and export sales development, she is now the driving force behind the family business. Today, Maison Bruno Paillard is still an independent Champagne house and firmly faithful to its style – a marriage of purity, elegance and complexity, with light and smooth effervescence. All his Champagnes are “Extra Brut” style with extra long lees-aging.
The Premiere Cuvee Extra Brut is a great introduction to Champagne Bruno Paillard’s style. Layered with grapefruit, redcurrant, morello cherries, and hints of dried fruits, the palate has a lively attack and bright acidity. The long clean finish of citrus fruits, almonds, and toast will leave an impression.
Rated 92/100 by JamesSuckling.com
“A fine mineral layer on top of the subtle sourdough yeastiness, lemon zest and green apples. Fruity and delineated on the palate with generous, creamy beads and a flavourful finish…”
£46.50 – also available at half and magnum bottle size
Learn more about Champagne Bruno Paillard
Domaine Justin Boxler Lieu-dit Pfoeller Riesling, Alsace, France
Owner and winemaker: Charlotte Boxler
Charlotte, the 11th generation of the Boxler family, a humble young lady started her wine journey when she was young with her grandfather – Justin Boxler. After spending a few years in other wine regions, she returned to Alsace and joined forces with her family to convert their vineyard to organic and make precise and fresh Alsatian wines.
Lieu-dit, similar to Premier Cru, this Riesling opens with an expressive aroma of green apples, lemon zest, limestone and white blossoms. The palate unfolds a vibrant acidity that dances across the taste buds along with lemon, crisp green apple and a touch of honey.
Domaine Hegarty Chamans Les Nonnes, Minervois, France
Winemaker: Jessica Chardron
The organic certified and biodynamically farmed estate is run by John and Philippa Hegarty, alongside winemaker, Jessica Chardron.
” You don’t drink wine, you drink the place”
This pretty much explains what they try to achieve in their wines, to produce a true expression of this unique piece of land in Minervois.
Rated 17.5/20 by JancisRobinson.com
“This wine seems to become more and more magnificent with each year of age.”
The Les Nonnes is a juicy, fresh wine with aromas of green apple, lychee, and citrus zest. A bright acidity that carries through to the concentrated palate and long finish of ginger spices. A very approachable white wine that will impress your guests.
Kikelet Dry Furmint, Tokaji, Hungary
Owner and winemaker: Stéphanie Berecz
Loire-native Stéphanie Berecz arrived in Tokaji to work for the prestigious Disznoko estate. She then met her husband Zsolt and started their project in 2002, Kikelet (“blooming spring” in the native dialect) was then born. They planted half with Furmint and half with Hárslevelű, which sit on volcanic soils covered with a shallow layer of loess, resulting in outstanding fruit that makes pure and mineral wines.
Rated 17.5/20 by JancisRobinson.com
“This is a beauty. The fruit is shining, the minerality has a silvery flute-like lift and gleam, and the wine sings with the full-throated soar of a soprano in a cathedral. There is a purity of essence of Furmint in this wine that was unmatched by any other wine in the tasting…I felt my spine tingle.”
Oliver’s Taranga Fiano, McLaren Vale, Australia
Winemaker: Corrina Wright
Oliver’s Taranga has been a grape grower for 4 generations, who sells to prestigious estates such as d’Arenberg, Penfolds and Wirra Wirra. Not only until the 6th generation, they decided to bottle their wine.
Corrina is the first winemaker in the family, also known as the Queen of Fiano for her passion and skill at making this signature variety of Oliver’s Taranga. The estate now produces a variety of small-batch wines from the different varieties grown in the estate, with their Fiano and Shiraz as flagship labels.
Rated 95 points by James Halliday (top wine critic in Australia just like Jancis Robinson in the UK!)
“One of the best Fianos going around these days – It has the rare quality of a white wine of inbuilt texture and structure, the flavours range from savoury to lemony.”
We hope you’ve discovered some new treasures from the wine world, not just in celebration of these women’s skills, commitment and talent, but most importantly, their remarkable wines.
Stay tuned for part two, we are featuring wines from Bordeaux to California!
This Blog post is written by Sharon Wong
Consumer Sales and Marketing Manager of Wanderlust Wine
Sharon is the driving force behind our website, wine club, marketing activities, and Wanderlust Wine events.
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