Women of Wine

Did you know the ancient Romans once had a law making it illegal for women to drink, upon pain of death? Women have certainly come a long way from those days.

March: A Month of Women & Wine ends today. For the final March post on this theme, I am providing a review of an informative and fascinating book about women in the wine industry. It is in that book I found the intriguing tidbit about Rome.

Women of Wine: The Rise of Women in the Global Wine Industry by Ann B. Matasar (University of California Press 2006) is a hardcover book ($24.95) containing about 252 pages. It includes an Introduction, ten Chapters, three Appendices and a Glossary.

The book begins with a historical background, showing reasons why women were excluded from the wine industry for a long time. There is then a brief analysis of the changes that have occurred in the modern wine industry and how that has led to greater involvement by women. This all leads to the heart of the book, descriptions about the many women who have been or currently are involved in the wine industry.

A number of the chapters are then divided into regions, showcasing women wine makers and winery owners in such places as France, Italy, California, Australia and elsewhere. There is also a chapter devoted to women wine educators, Masters of Wine, writers, and publishers. The book moves onto a section about women auctioneers, trade representatives, and sommeliers. Women are involved in all aspects of the wine industry.

The final chapter looks at the future of women in the wine industry, asking whether the positive changes that have occurred will continue. And the author provides some suggestions on such can continue, as well as trying to identify some of the potential obstacles.

Overall, this was a very educational book. I learned about many women in the wine industry who I did not know before, as well as garnering more details about some of the women I did know. It is an easy read and will not bore you. It does an excellent job of showcasing women in the wine industry, in almost all of its aspects. Though it does not deal with women wine bloggers at all. I definitely recommend this book.

If anyone else has read it, feel free to post your own thoughts about the book in the comments.

365 Days of Wine Honoring Women in Wine

I am glad to see that I am not the only wine blogger who is honoring women in the wine community this month as part of Women's History Month.

Cathy of the relatively new wine blog, 365 Days of Wine, will also be honoring the role of women in the wine industry. Each day March, she will spotlight a different female winemaker. So check out Cathy's blog each day to read about the many female winemakers in the industry.

And don't just read her blog in March. Keep reading it throughout the year. Her blog is very well written and discusses much about the local wine scene in and around Boston. I have had the good fortune and pleasure to meet Cathy a couple times at local wine events and she is very personable and knowledgeable about wine.

March: A Month of Women & Wine

March is National Women’s History Month. This year''s theme is Women’s Art: Women’s Vision and it is intended to "honor the originality, beauty, imagination, and multiple dimensions of women’s lives." This theme also "provides a special opportunity to discover and celebrate women’s visual arts in a variety of forms and mediums that help expand our perceptions of ourselves and each other."

During March, in honor of National Women's History Month, I will discuss some of the contributions made by women in the wine world. One can look at wine production as an art so female wine makers would fall under this year's theme. Literary creations can also be considered an art form so they could also fall under the theme. And even those women involved in the wine world who would not fall under the theme should still be recognized this month for their beneficial contributions.

Women's involvement in the wine industry continues to grow. Even in Japan, where Sake production has long been a man's only profession, we are seeing more and more female brew masters. We see women in France controlling important Champagne houses. We see female wine makers in California making highly acclaimed wines.

In the world of wine writing, there are some very prominent women. Even in the world of wine blogging, there are many excellent female writers, with more blogging every day. One of my goals this month will be to try to create a fairly comprehensive list of all the female bloggers out there. I would like to post it near the end of the month, to provide a resource for the wine community. So, if you are a female blogger and would like to be added to the list, please send me a link to your blog. I certainly know many female bloggers but I am sure there are some out there that I don't.

I also hope that other wine bloggers, male and female, consider discussing the role of women in the wine world this month. If you have a favorite female wine maker, why not post about her. If a particular female wine writer appeals to you, tell us about her.

Let us honor those women who have made the wine community a better place.