Holiday Gifting Guide 2023: The Best Female Winemakers
Ladies and Gentlemen, let's focus here on the work these badass Female Winemakers are doing. The growth of ladies at the helm has been a beautiful sight to behold over the last decade, as the tide is truly changing in wine. This collection of talented winemakers are doing their thing from Napa to Provence, and their brilliance is meant to inspire a look into the elegant—where the earth speaks to you from the bottle. From first-time winemakers realizing their dream, to well established heroines on the scene, Here are my picks for the best Female Winemakers' wines to give as gifts in 2023:
![<p>Courtesy of Kabayan Wines</p><p>Justine Osilla is the definition of a Renaissance Woman, and has defied the traditional expectations of her Filipino family in pursuing her true passion for winemaking. She was raised in a household that taught her their narrow definition of success - the one that implied you can only be happy and fulfilled in the medical field. Justine's journey showcases the power of following one's heart and embracing a different calling.</p><p>The creation of Kabayan Wines was inspired by the lack of conversation around pairing wine with Filipino food. This influenced Justine’s decisions in what grape varietals to work with and the style produced. Kabayan [kah BAI yahn] is a Filipino word that embodies community, a way to address other Filipinos, and is loosely translated as “my people.” </p><p>Kabayan's 2022 Mourvèdre is driven by a passion to bring community together. Whether over your favorite Filipino dishes or enjoyed on it’s own on a warm day by the pool (slightly chilled!). Vibrant with acidity and grippy soft tannins, you’ll enjoy layers of ripe red cherries, bramble fruit, plum, cocoa, and a hint of baking spice–and everything nice. </p><p>ANALYSIS: Alcohol: 12.8% | Total Acidity: 6.1 g/L | RS: dry </p><p>CASES PRODUCED: 30</p><p> Vinted & bottled at Sunset Cellars </p><p><a href="https://kabayanwines.com/kabayan-mourvedre-2022/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Click here to purchase;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Click here to purchase</a></p>](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/7FG7AqR8pHr_qPf6ponSeQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTE0NTU-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/men_s_journal_718/7dff0328d1f025b27002d31599369ae4)
Courtesy of Kabayan Wines
Justine Osilla is the definition of a Renaissance Woman, and has defied the traditional expectations of her Filipino family in pursuing her true passion for winemaking. She was raised in a household that taught her their narrow definition of success - the one that implied you can only be happy and fulfilled in the medical field. Justine's journey showcases the power of following one's heart and embracing a different calling.
The creation of Kabayan Wines was inspired by the lack of conversation around pairing wine with Filipino food. This influenced Justine’s decisions in what grape varietals to work with and the style produced. Kabayan [kah BAI yahn] is a Filipino word that embodies community, a way to address other Filipinos, and is loosely translated as “my people.”
Kabayan's 2022 Mourvèdre is driven by a passion to bring community together. Whether over your favorite Filipino dishes or enjoyed on it’s own on a warm day by the pool (slightly chilled!). Vibrant with acidity and grippy soft tannins, you’ll enjoy layers of ripe red cherries, bramble fruit, plum, cocoa, and a hint of baking spice–and everything nice.
ANALYSIS: Alcohol: 12.8% | Total Acidity: 6.1 g/L | RS: dry
CASES PRODUCED: 30
Vinted & bottled at Sunset Cellars
Courtesy of Burgess Cellars
Meghan Zobeck is passionate about crafting wines of elegance, practicing low intervention winemaking methods, and caring for the environment. Over the past few years, she has been actively transitioning all of our vineyards to regenerative farming. This helps the vineyard function as a system designed by nature and includes diverse cover crops, pollinator gardens, and the use of animals instead of tilling.
A Colorado native, Meghan fell in love with wine and winemaking while she was negotiating contracts for the NFL. She shifted careers and fully immersed herself in the wine industry, participating in harvests around the world including Colchagua Valley, Chile, Piedmont, Italy, Bordeaux, France, as well as experience at Screaming Eagle and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars in Napa Valley. She became the winemaker for Burgess Cellars in September 2020, when the winery was sold to the Lawrence Family.
M. Zobeck Wines was born in June 2023 after years of exploration for the perfect sites. With the inaugural release comes the 2020 Barsotti Vineyard Gamay, a fresh California look at the famed grape of Beaujolais.
Courtesy of Raft Wines
Jennifer Reichardt might characterize herself as a fifth-generation duck farmer, being a member of the family that established Sonoma County Poultry in 1901, a business in which she has had and continues to have various responsibilities since 2000. The winemaking bug bit in the spring of 2011, and that autumn Jen completed her first harvest in Sonoma County, California.
Over the next few years, she completed six additional harvests, to the Sonoma Coast, down to Chile, back to Sonoma Coast, down to Australia, and back again. Harvest number eight brought in a new meaning, when she started her own label, Raft Wines. In 2016 she founded Raft Wines, the brand was formed from a feeling of joy – joy of the land, of the food and wine that can be produced from incredible tended top vineyard sites in Northern California.
SYRAH is a classic French varietal, stemming from an over 2000 year old cross pollination of two nearly extinct varietals, Dureza and Mondeuse Blanche, from the southeastern corner of the country. Syrah is known for its heartiness, but also delicate and smooth palate. This 2019 Syrah from Weed Farm in the Dry Creek Valley is meant to evoke those classic expressions, but also offer a bright California take on a beloved varietal.
Courtesy of Oceano Wines
Life is short, and Oceano Wines founder Rachel Martin aims to squeeze every last drop out of it. One of the few female leaders in the wine industry, she brings a fresh approach to winemaking. Between her studies in viticulture and enology from Napa Valley College, her Diploma Program in Sensory Evaluation from the University of Bordeaux’s School of Enology, and her work in the wine industry in her home state of Virginia where she established Middleburg as an American Viticultural Area in 2012, Rachel’s bicoastal, ocean-loving lifestyle is embodied by Oceano Wines.
Rachel is joined by Marin Wolgamott, a winemaking prodigy who hails from the Central Coast of California. She graduated from San Luis Obispo’s California Polytechnic State University School of Enology and Viticulture, the most extensive program in the country,
Growing up in a family of grape growers and winemakers, Marin’s passion for the craft was ignited early on. She honed her skills under the mentorship of some of the world’s most revered winemakers, working in prestigious wineries throughout California, Oregon, Australia, and New Zealand. Her dedication to learning new techniques and her mindful winemaking style have resulted in many successful vintages over the years. Today, she consults for numerous wineries, providing turnkey solutions to help them grow their brand and produce high-quality wine.
Oceano's wines are sourced from the Spanish Springs Vineyard, the westernmost vineyard in the US. This special site was planted only 1.5 miles from the Pacific on a mix of marine shale, limestone, sandstone. Their Pinot Noir is a mix of Swan, 828, 667, and 777 clones, fermented in tank and then moved to 228L French barrels for 8 months' aging. Additionally they make an incredible non-alcoholic Pinot Noir called Oceano Zero.
Courtesy of Château La Mascaronne
Convinced by the potential of La Mascaronne, Michel Reybier, owner of the Grand Cru Classé Cos d'Estournel in Saint-Estèphe, the Domaine Impérial de Tokaj-Hétszölö in Hungary, the Maison Jeeper in Champagne, as well as the La Réserve hotels in Paris , Geneva, Zurich and Ramatuelle, acquired the domain in 2020.
In 2021, Nathalie Longefay, who had been supporting La Mascaronne for ten years as a consulting oenologist, took over as technical director of the Estate.
“Mascaronne is one of the most beautiful terroirs in Provence and we have a typical wine with great expression and balance in the three colors. We pay the same attention to quality on the Rosés as on the Whites and Reds: our Rosés are appreciated in their youth, all year round, our Whites and our Reds also have excellent aging potential.” -Nathalie Longefay
Château La Mascaronne Rosé is a blend of Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah, and Vermentino. It is produced in the famed Côtes-de-Provence region of Provence, France.
Courtesy of Vine Hill Ranch
VHR Cabernet is an estate-grown wine of place, the culmination of the Phillips family’s evolution from grapegrowing to winemaking over three generations. Years of traversing vineyard rows and caring for each of Vine Hill Ranch’s seven blocks have imbued a deep understanding of their estate vineyard’s unique characteristics.
To produce a true wine of place, they take a minimal touch approach to winemaking: harvesting at optimal ripeness, meticulous sorting of fruit, cold-soaking, extended maceration, use of native yeast and new French oak barrels. Grapes from VHR’s selected blocks are vinified as separate lots to promote the full expression of the vineyard.
FRANÇOISE PESCHON was raised in California’s wine country with family roots in Luxembourg, Françoise received an enology degree from UC Davis. After post-graduate work at the University of Bordeaux and an apprenticeship at Château Haut-Brion, Françoise returned to the Napa Valley.
In 1993, Françoise joined Araujo Estate, soon stepping into the role of winemaker. The reputation of the Phillips family’s determination to craft a wine of place from the estate vineyard drew Françoise to VHR in 2008. She collaborates closely in the field with vineyard manager, Michael Wolf, to cultivate a wine that is dynamic, powerful, and elegant—a soulful expression of the site.
Courtesy of Bolney Wine Estate
Cara Lee, having grown up in South Africa, diverted her childhood dream of being a helicopter pilot into winemaking. Over the last ten years, Cara has developed her career, with majority of that time working for award winning wine estate, Môreson, in Franschhoek, South Africa under the guidance of Head Winemaker, Clayton Reabow. It was during her tenure at Môreson that she decided to take on a new challenge and having seen the steady and exciting growth of the English wine industry, knew she wanted to be a significant part of it.
In the spring of 2021, Cara decided that the English wine industry was calling, and she joined Bolney Wine Estate to head up the winemaking operations. Working alongside her top-class winery team, she strives to develop the well-established still and sparkling wines of Bolney into a new level of quality wine production globally. Cara Lee works directly with her vineyard team in Sussex but also with growers and vineyards across 8 counties across England. In 2023, she took on the title of Head Winemaker, following her predecessor, Sam Litner, daughter of Bolney Estate founders, Janet & Rodney Pratt.
Bolney Estate Cuvée Rosé 2019 (SRP: $79.99)
A blend of 52% Pinot Noir and 48% Meunier, this salmon pink bubbly features notes of wild strawberries and red-currants. Lively, yet refined bubbles release flavours of red apple, sweet brioche and rose petal. Bottle fermented and lees aged for 36 months before disgorgement.
