Meet five women who made history in the world of wine

In the month in which we remember the historic struggle of women to have work conditions equal to those of men, we also celebrate the great female names of our past and present.

The fact is that many of these figures did – and still do – major contributions to the world wine market.

With that in mind, I highlight five emblematic women in the sector below, from names that revolutionized techniques to those that helped to democratize the world of wines:

Madame Clicquot

Madame Clicquot was how she became known Barbe-Nicole Clicquot-Ponsardin emblematic figure of French viticulture.

At the age of 27, she became the widow of the son of the founder of Maison Clicquot and took control of the company. This was not so unusual if we take into account a period of wars, around the 18th and 19th centuries: many women lost their husbands and took over the family businesses.

Madame Clicquot stands out, however, for her innovative contributions to the wine market in France. Very little was known about the production processes and how to maintain the quality of sparkling wines.

The businesswoman was one of the pioneers in defending the assemblage in the production of sparkling wines in order to have consistency in the final product.

To solve the turbidity that was common to sparkling wines at the time, he created the technique called remuage which consists in carefully turning champagne bottles on a special rack to remove sediment from the wine during fermentation.

Madame Clicquot died in 1866, but her techniques continue to be used today. The Veuve Clicquot brand, which she founded, is a symbol of luxury and quality around the world.

Baroness Philippine de Rothschild

Another French icon, but born a century and a half after Barbe-Nicole, Philippine was the banker’s daughter Baron Philippe de Rothschild founder of the renowned winery Chateau Mouton Rothschild.

He became interested in the wine production process, studied oenology and worked in the family winery.

With his father’s death in 1988, he took over the leadership of the Château Mouton Rothschild winery and continued to produce some of the best wines in the world, receiving many awards and recognition for his work.

Among his great achievements are the construction of the Opus One winery in the Napa Valley and the union with Concha y Toro, which resulted in the launch of the Chilean icon Almaviva. Still in Chile, another important undertaking emerged from Mouton Rothschild, the Escudo Rojo winery.

Philippine de Rothschild passed away in August 2014 in Paris.

Dona Ferreirinha

Dona Antonia Adelaide Ferreira also known as “Dona Ferreirinha”, was one of the first women to undertake in Portugal and marked the history of the port wine.

Like Madame Clicquot, she took over the property after her husband’s death and took it to another level: she invested in technologies to combat phylloxera, introduced new production methods and expanded the business.

After his death, the winery continued to be one of the most important in Portugal. In 1952, it changed its name to Casa Ferreirinha and launched the first Barca Velha wine one of the most prestigious Portuguese wines.

Susana Balbo

I’ll start by saying that Susana was the first Argentine woman to graduate in oenology.

Born in Mendoza worked in several wineries inside and outside Argentina, and consolidated the Torrontés grape as one of the most important in Argentine wine.

In 1999 he founded his own winery, improved winemaking processes, invested in previously unexplored terroirs and started to produce great wines.

Susana is not only an emblematic wine figure, but also a woman committed to putting Argentine wine on the world map.

She held the position of Wines of Argentina president three times, increasing exports of the country’s wines, and, in 2015, she was elected national deputy for Mendoza.

In 2017, she started to represent Argentina in Women 20, the female arm of the G20, which calls for gender equality and women’s economic empowerment.

Jancis Robinson

One of the world’s leading authorities on wine, Jancis was the first person outside the wine industry to become Master of Wine, in 1984.

Among her many titles – writer, wine critic, author of important guides – the most curious of them is that Jancis is wine adviser to the British royal family .

She is the woman who has done the most for the information and democratization of wine around the world, with her accessible and didactic language in her publications.

*The texts published by Insiders and Columnists do not necessarily reflect the opinion of CNN Viagem & Gastronomia.

About Pri Matta

Priscilla is a journalist, sommelière and creator of the profile @deondevinho on Instagram. She makes it clear that she doesn’t talk about wines there, but about moments. It’s just that wine is in everyone!