Wine Women of the Hunter Valley

(This article first appeared in the Breathe Hunter Valley Magazine Summer edition. I’m republishing it now as I really like the honest comments from the winemakers. Since this story was first published, Sam Connew has parted ways with Tower Estate and is now something of a Hunter gun-for-hire).

In 1966 James Brown wrote a song titled ‘it’s a man’s man’s man’s world’, a classic Brown tune describing an era when traditional sex roles still ruled, an era when the notion of successful females holding key management positions was still largely unheard of (particularly in the wine industry).

But I wonder if Brown would have envisaged that, in the Hunter Valley 45 years later, it could be a woman’s world? A world where being female could often be more advantageous than being male?

That idea may sound ridiculous for some, but considering that the current Hunter Valley Winemaker of the Year is female (Liz Jackson), 3 of the biggest wineries (including Tower Estate, Bimbadgen and First Creek) have ladies as their chief winemakers, and a further three are run by women (Sally Scarborough at Scarborough, Christina Tulloch at Tulloch, Bec Poynter at Bimbadgen) that idea may not sound so fanciful.

So what is it that gives women an edge in the Hunter Valley wine industry? Particularly an industry that is historically a male dominated one?

That’s one of the questions I asked recently of several winemaking women of the Hunter Valley, looking to work out whether such an edge exists or if the winemaking glass ceiling still lingers.

For  a relative newcomers response, I talked to upcoming Hunter Valley maker Xanthe Leonard (Assistant Winemaker at Hungerford Hill) who believes that the success of women Hunter winemakers might be a question of communication. 

“Hunter winemakers are very much in the public spotlight and are repeatedly called upon to conduct tours, tastings and generally talk about the products they make. I believe that this ‘coal face’ existence for winemakers makes them more dynamic and valuable to a business, but also works to female strengths of communication and relationship building” she said.

Leonard instead suggests one overlooked (if quirky) suggestion about why women may make better workers in the winery, and it all comes down to physical attributes.  As she explains:“If anything we are perhaps better at doing the work in the lab as we generally have smaller hands that are more suited to the more intricate work, but that’s not really a positive as I would prefer to be out in the cellar!”

Tower Estate Winemaker Sam Connew thinks that this gender division might be overstated though, still suggesting that there might possibly be a timing factor at play here: “I think maybe women are finally starting to get a bit more profile and (move) further up the ladder so maybe it’s ‘our time” she said. 

Don’t go calling Connew a top female winemaker though: “I do get really fired up though at being described – as I was recently – as a ‘leading female winemaker’; I think I’ve earned my stripes and can take a place amongst ALL winemakers, male or female!!  And no-one ever talks about male winemakers, so for me the term ‘female winemaker’ is redundant” she said.

On that note, I also asked the winemakers about what they thought about the International Womens Wine Competition, a wine competition judged entirely by women, for women drinkers. According to Suzanne Little, Winemaker at the Little Wine Company (and a former Senior Winemaker at Rosemount Estate) it’s a bit naff:

“So naff! We all compete on a level playing field and a wine show for women seems a bit patronising I reckon. The only difference between male and female winemakers is that some are male and some are female!”

But for Connew it’s a great initiative. “Anything that makes wine more accessible to people (especially women) is great in my book. And we definitely need to change the perception about who our average consumer is, which if is apparently a male who buys hip flasks and driving gloves and putting!” she said. “You’d be amazed how often it still happens when I am out at a restaurant and the wine list is still handed to the bloke at the table! I don’t think so!!”.

Such sexual discrimination seems to be largely confined to the dinner table though, as all of the women surveyed mentioned that they didn’t see any in the winery.

“It’s not a blokes club in terms of shutting women out and I’ve personally never had a problem. Well I did have a foreman take a swing at me but I think that would have happened even if I was a bloke” Little said. “In some ways I guess I’ve had to work harder to prove to cellar hands that I’m not asking them to do anything I wouldn’t do myself. Working for large wineries I found it was much quicker to get respect from young blokes if they could see that I could swear and throw barrels around too.”

It’s a sentiment echoed too by Sarah Crowe, Senior Winemaker at Bimbadgen:“I’ve never experienced negativity from the ‘good ol’ boys’. I think the mentality in the Hunter Valley is based on having a good work ethic and being community minded” she said.

It’s that final idea that really sums up the reason why the women of the Hunter are making a mark of late – it’s all about community.   

“The Hunter Valley has a reputation for being a difficult place to grow grapes and make wine. All of the Hunter winemaking women are smart, talented, focused and fun. We are all friends and there is no competition between us, only support” she said.

Who:

Sarah Crowe, Bimbadgen

Sarah Crowe

Where:

Bimbadgen

Did you ever imagine being a winemaker as a kid?

“I grew up on the South Coast of NSW the daughter of a storeman and a housewife. A career in winemaking would have seemed as likely as being the Prime Minister of Australia even though my Gran said I was a bit bossy and said ‘you’ll run the country one day’. I studied Horticulture after school and worked as a gardener, that was my doorway into the Vineyard. I tried accountancy for work experience but if I told that to our accountant at work, he’d die of laughter.”

Who:

Suzanne Little

Suzanne Little

Where:

Little Wine Company

If you weren’t making wine in the Hunter, where would you choose to make wine?

“Anywhere with good surf in walking distance!”
Who:

Liz Jackson

Where:

First Creek Wines/Monarch Winemaking

Liz’s recent accolades:

Sam Connew

2011 Hunter Valley Winemaker of the Year, Finalist Gourmet Traveller WINE winemaker of the Year 2011, named as one of the ’Ten People to Watch in 2011’, produced five wines that made it into the NSW Top 40 wines (including NSW Wine of the Year).

Who:

Sam Connew

Where:

Tower Estate

Did you ever imagine being a winemaker as a kid?

“I was supposed to be either a diplomat or a rally car driver according to a kooky guidance counsellor I had at high school!  I actually quite like the sound of rally car driving….maybe in the next life.”

Xanthe Leonard

Who:

Xanthe Leonard

Where:

Hungerford Hill

If you weren’t making wine in the Hunter, where would you choose to make wine:

“I love that the Hunter is so close to the coast. So if I were to make wine anywhere else it would have to be a coastal wine region like Margaret River or McLaren Vale where you can head down to the beach or the fish co-op on the weekends.”