What's Going On in the World of French Wines

Today is International Women’s Day and what better way to celebrate than with a bottle of wine with dinner tonight? And of course, it would be even better if the wine just happened to have been made by a woman. While once it was difficult to find a wine made by a female winemaker, these days women play a huge role in the wine industry. Below I have listed some of my favorite wine women who have inspired me along the way.

Alsace

While there are numerous women working in Alsace, Domaine Weinbach remains one of the standouts. Headed by Colette Faller and her daughters, this estate is recognized around the world for its wonderful biodynamically produced wines. I was fortunate enough to visit the estate many years ago and taste through the wines with Catherine Faller. It was a remarkable experience and I have always had a soft spot for the wines since.

Bordeaux

There are so many women who have played a role in Bordeaux, but three I’d like to mention are Eleanor of Aquitaine, Baroness Philippine Mathilde Camille de Rothschild and Sylvie Cazes. Eleanor of Aquitaine has the distinct honor of having been both the Queen of France and the Queen of England. She was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Europe due to her position as Duchess of Aquitaine and Countess of Poitiers. Her marriage in 1152 to Henry, Duke of the Normans (later Henry II of England), was what brought Bordeaux under English rule, thereby launching not a thousand ships (that was Helen of Troy), but thousands of bottles of Bordeaux across the English Channel. Baroness Rothschild took over Château Mouton Rothschild after her father’s death in 1988 and under her control the family company has continued to thrive. Sylvie Cazes is one unbelievably busy woman. She is the managing director of numerous estates in Bordeaux including Chateau Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Chateau de Pez, Chateau Haut Beauséjour, Chateau Bernadotte, and Château Réaut la Gravière. She also works with the Cazes family estates which include Chateau Lynch Bages. In addition, she is the president of the Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux.

Burgundy

Burgundy is one region where it took a bit of time for women to gain more of a foothold. But these days, there are numerous women working as winemakers, vineyard managers and négociants. W. Blake Gray wrote a terrific story in 2010 about the association of Burgundy’s women winemakers, Femmes & Vins de Bourgogne. I highly recommend reading the article. There are two women in particular that I would like to mention though. The first is Lalou Bize-Leroy, who was a co-director of none other than the famous Domaine de la Romanee-Conti (DRC). She now runs her own (also very famous) company, Domaine Leroy. And the second is Becky Wasserman, an American who has been living in Burgundy since 1968. Becky founded Selection Becky Wasserman in 1979 and the company concentrates on exporting wines from small domaines in Burgundy. Over the years Becky has established herself as a force to be reckoned with in Burgundy. If you see her name on a bottle of wine, it is an excellent indicator that you have found a terrific wine to drink.

Champagne

Where would we be without the women of the Champagne region? While legend tells us that it was a monk who “invented” Champagne (which we know isn’t true), the region actually owes a great deal of its success to the efforts of a number of women. Nicole Barbe Ponsardin (Veuve Clicquot) and Louise Pommery (Champagne Pommery) both played important role in the 19th century in improving the techniques used to make Champagne as well as expanding the world-wide market for bubbly. Other Champagne houses, Bollinger and Laurent Perrier are two prime examples, were led by women in the 20th century and today you will find any number of women leading the way. For more information, check out Michael Apstein’s terrific article.

Of course there are many more women to discuss, so I think we will continue with part 2 of this post on Thursday. So come back by the blog then and we will continue our journey through the wine regions of France! And don’t forget to raise your glass tonight to a special woman in your life!