Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/51841
MANAGEMENT the reasons are, these are the kind of things that, in my opinion, help make us good at sales." FEMININE WINES? While most of the women inter- viewed for this article concur that women and men often have differ- ent approaches to tasting, selling, buying and appreciating wine, none would publicly claim that women actually make wine differently than men. Perhaps they don't, but it's also possible that there are simply not enough women winemakers to have a qualitative impact. If asked to guess the number of women in charge of winemaking at California wineries, most people in the wine trade would probably estimate the number to be 10%-15%. According to research conducted by Santa Clara University's Lucia Albino Gilbert, an academic psy- chologist with an interest in wom- en's career paths, only 9.8% of California wineries employ women as primary winemakers. That fig- ure may be even somewhat lower when you take into account that some winemakers craft wines for more than one winery or for their own label in addition to work done for other wineries. When one considers the con- tributions to the industry made by such notable California winemak- ers as Heidi Barrett, Cathy Corison, Helen Turley, Mia Klein, Zelma Long and Celia Welch, their prominence seems disproportionate to their relatively small numbers. And yet, despite these successes, Gilbert reckons that women in the wine industry are still banging up against the glass ceiling. "It will take a long time before women achieve gen- der parity in the industry," she con- cluded. (You can read more about Gilbert's research at www.women- winemakers.com.) Although studies have shown that women have more sensitive palates than men, Liz Thach of Sonoma State University points out that women are sometimes treated as inferior to men when it comes to ordering wine in res- taurants. Of course, gender inequity isn't www.cleanwinery.com e-mail info@arsenterprises.com Available from ARS/Pressure Washer Company VINEYARD FOR SALE Picture your winery here bottling estate wines. Total of 14+ acres with 5 acres of drip-irrigated wine grapes in full production of 15 tons/year. Thirty miles east of Mpls./St. Paul in Somerset, WI with 4 bed, 2 bath home, 36 x 70 pole building, apple orchard and stunning views of the St. Croix River Valley. Bordered by state preserve. $460,000. www.martellvineyards.com 128 VINEYARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT JAN - FEB 2012 715-247-3386 limited to women directly involved in the wine business. All of us who drink wine, purchase wine, serve wine to our friends and family, and order wine in restaurants, are affected by gender bias. "In restaurant settings my hus- band is still usually given the wine list before I am," said Thach, a Master of Wine, with a sigh. "Even when I order the wine, some serv- ers still give him the glass to taste first." Since women make up 52% of the adult population and purchase 57% of the wine in the United States, it isn't hard to understand why wineries are suddenly look- ing at the distaff side of sales (one might ask what took them so long). WWW.VWM-ONLINE.COM (800) 735-9277