The recent passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a poignant reminder of our country’s long struggle towards gender equality. Ginsburg, a crusader for equality of the sexes, and, for a time, the only female justice on the Supreme Court, made it to the top echelons of the legal world despite many setbacks during a long, illustrious career.

Reading her life story in The New York Times, I was dismayed to learn that while enrolled at Harvard Law School, the dean invited all the women in Ginsburg’s class to dinner — there were only nine out of 552 students — and “interrogated each one, asking why she felt entitled to be in the class, taking the place of a man.” Even after graduating from law school, tied for first place in her class, Ginsburg did not receive job offers for positions at any New York law firms, nor for faculty positions at prestigious law schools, including Columbia and New York University. (The New York Times, 9/19/20).

Today, while sexism continues to create barriers for women, thanks to Justice Ginsburg and many others, women have made great strides in the fight for equality in the workplace and beyond.

Women in Wine

Up until recently, women with leading roles in the wine industry were few and far between. A December 2018 study, in Wine Business Monthly by Barbara Insel and Alicia Hoepfner found that, in California, women held only 38.1% of overall leadership roles in the wine industry.

Women are particularly underrepresented in viticulture, with only 6.6% in leading roles, and 26.6% as female winemakers, despite the fact that women received 42% of viticulture and enology degrees at UC Davis in the last 15 years. “While a clear improvement over what would have been found a generation, or even a decade, ago, the industry can do better,” states the authors.

During a recent online seminar for the media, The Next Generation of Women in Wine, issues surrounding gender bias were addressed. “When I started working in wine, all the top positions were filled with men,'' says Laura Catena, moderator of the seminar, and fourth generation Argentine vintner. “There were some women in winemaking, but there were no women in viticulture and many of the women studying winemaking would end up on the business side.” Catena noted that for her, it was “horrifying” that these businesswomen were running the show, but they had a male boss for no reason other than to have a male in charge.

**Laura Catena moderating the online zoom session from Argentina.**

Catena’s experiences led her to become passionate about the gender pay gap. “If a woman has the same job,” she says, “she has to get paid the same as a man.” Laura admits that there were a few situations at her company where she found out that a woman was getting paid less for the same job. Since then, she works closely with human resources to make sure there’s pay parity at her company.

While remaining very positive about the future, Catena says that there’s still so much work to be done, and that for change to occur, there must be more women in positions of power. “We can’t just wait for things to happen,” she says. We need to have the difficult conversations with the uncles and the cousins — both men and women — to make things happen.”

Four Dynamic Women Winemakers

Here are four women in wine to celebrate, including Catena, who are role models of female leadership, taking their family-owned wineries to new heights. From management and marketing to the making of the wine, these women do it all.

Anne Trimbach — Maison Trimbach, Alsace, France

Anne is a 13th generation winemaker at her family’s iconic Alsace winery. When Anne told her family she wanted to work in the business, her great-uncle said, “Are you sure? But you’re a woman! One day you’ll have children and how will you manage?”

Anne, who now has a four year-old daughter, says she had to prove that she was up for the job. And she has done that for 20 years now, traveling the world to promote the family’s wines, as well as building the company’s website and handling all of its social media.

**Anne Trimbach zooming in from Alsace, France.**

Trimbach wine to try: Trimbach 2017 Reserve Riesling (SRP $34.99). Trimbach is especially noted for its high-end, dry Riesling. The 2017 Reserve, a particularly great year, was awarded 93 points by Wine Spectator. The wine has a great balance between ripeness and acidity, while tasting of green apples, mango, pineapple and lime. Enjoy its refreshing crispness with everything from cheeses, salads, and fish (sautéed, grilled, in a sauce, or raw as sushi), to chicken, veal and pork dishes. The wine goes especially well with spicy Asian dishes.

Alessia Collauto — Travaglini Gattinara, Piedmont, Italy

Callauto, who holds degrees in economics and business administration, works at the family winery in Piedmont with her mother, Cinzia Travaglini, father, Massimo Collauto, and sister Carolina Collauto. Even while working for a time as a sommelier, Calluato knew that she would serve as the next generation, along with her sister, running the family business. Today Collauto tends the vines and works in the cellar at Travaglini. She is also involved in the administration, marketing, and sales of the wines.

**Alessia Collauto joining the conversation from Gattinara, Italy.**

**The bottles’ distinctive shape, designed by Alessia’s grandfather in the late 1950s, has a curve that fits easily in the palm of the hand and serves to catch sediment.**

Travaglini wine to try: Travaglini Gattinara 2016 (SRP $33.00). The Travaglini family has been producing exceptional Nebbiolo wines for 5 generations. This wine is simply named after the appellation in which it is found, Gattinara — a small, unique area of Piedmont, not far from Barolo. Made from grapes grown on four different hills across the region, the Gattinara is the company’s flagship, and the #1 selling Gattinara in the world.

This medium-bodied red wine, with aromas of spring flowers and juicy red berry fruit, has an appealing earthiness on the palate, with notes of dried cherries, red plums, mushroom and tobacco, all backed up by silky tannins and lively acidity. Pair it with pasta in a tomato meat sauce, and grilled lamb or steak. Excellent now, it will improve with age. In a word, yum!

Laure Colombo — Jean Luc Colombo, Rhône, France

Laure Colombo is head winemaker of Jean-Luc Colombo winery, founded in 1984 by her parents in the northern Rhône Valley. Laure, who has a master’s degree in oenology, spent time in the U.S. working in a variety of wine-related jobs, including assistant sommelier at Alain Ducasse‘s renowned Essex House restaurant in NYC. Upon returning to France, Laure interned in Bordeaux at the famous Château Haut-Brion estate before joining her family’s business. She and her partner Dimitri also own Le Domaine de Lorient, a winery in northern Rhone’s Saint Péray appellation.

Laure Colombo streaming from the Rhône Valley. — **Laure Colombo streaming in from the Rhône Valley.**

Jean-Luc Colombo wine to try: Jean-Luc Colombo “La Belle de Mai” 2018 (SRP $29.99). In English, the wine’s name means “The Beauty of May” and it is named after the restaurant where Laure’s grandmother worked as a chef. This single vineyard wine, from northern Rhône’s Saint-Peray appellation, is made of 70% Roussanne and 30% Marsanne. With its stunningly aromatic complexity (worthy of a “wow!”), the wine is reminiscent of fresh flowers. Bright and lively on the palate, it also displays a rich and velvety texture. Laure’s favorite food pairing with the wine? Roast chicken stuffed with truffles. Oh la la!

Laura Catena — Bodegas Caro, Mendoza, Argentina

The first time I met Catena, she told me a story about her great-grandfather. She said that in his later years, when asked what he gave to his children, he would say, “I left a winery and a vineyard to my sons, and I found a husband for each one of my daughters.” Fortunately, by the time Catena came of age, times had changed for women (and men!). Upon hearing that long-ago story, she was able to say to her father, “‘Listen, I found my own husband. I want a winery and a vineyard.’ to which he replied, ‘That seems fair.’”

Since 1995 Catena, an energetic go-getter who splits her time between Mendoza and San Francisco, CA where she practices emergency medicine, is managing director of her family’s winery Catena Zapata, as well as the proprietor of Luca Winery and Bodegas Caro.

Bodegas Caro is a partnership between Catena Zapata and Bordeaux’s famous Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite). The winery gets its name from a combination of CAtena and ROthschild, and the two families have also combined their knowledge of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon to create a unique portfolio of Argentine wines (aged in French barrels crafted by Domaine Barons de Rothschild): Caro, Amancaya, and Aruma.

Caro wine to try: Caro 2017 (SRP $70.99). This lush, full-bodied blend of 74% Malbec and 26% Cabernet Sauvignon, is a dark, purplish red color with intense aromas of raspberry, cherry, black pepper tobacco, and cloves. On the palate, it is rich and well-structured with refreshing acidity and notes of chocolate, blackberry, vanilla and black pepper. Still a bit young, it will drink well after decanting, yet will really show its magic in another five to ten years. “The wine ages beautifully,” says Catena, “and if you are able to get a hold of the 2002, ‘06 or ‘10, they are really stunning.” Enjoy this wine with hearty meals like braised short ribs and roast leg of lamb.