Women and Wine History 

In the early history of wine, men dominated the wine industry, mainly because women lacked the right to own property until more recent years. But despite these hurdles, some women rose to run their wineries when their fathers and husbands died. They then began to build their wine empires, making notable changes in the wine industry into what people know today. From the expansion of family wineries to innovative sweet and dry champagne, these are some of the outstanding women of wine that shaped its history. 

Madame Clicquot 

Known to most as the Widow Clicquot, Barbe-Nicole Clicquot took over the family wine business after her husband, Francois, died. She was 27 when it happened, but it didn’t stop her from transforming Veuve Clicquot into one of the greatest champagne houses in the world. Even though she had no formal training, she still introduced technical innovation to the wine industry. 

In 1810, she was able to produce the industry’s first vintage wine in a landmark harvest in her vineyards of Bouzy. But that’s not all. Because she solidified the concept with the 1811 vintage labeled as the “Year of the Comet.” 

After that, she created the first modern pink champagne and revolutionized champagne mass production when she developed the riddling rack process. 

Dona Antonia Adelaide Ferreira 

Unlike the previous, Ferreira was born into the wine industry and was married to her cousin in 1834. Unfortunately, her husband lost a large portion of their fortune and left her a widow at 33 when he died in 1844. She then took over the family business, adjusted her late husband’s spending methods, and focused more on producing port wines. 

It was a successful business move because she turned the family business into one of Douro Valley’s most well-known wineries. But she left Portugal to escape the advances of the President of Portugal’s son on her 11 years old daughter. She returned after a few years, producing more and acquiring more land. 

Hannah Weinberger 

It was only in the 1960s that Napa began its modern wine industry. But winemaking was already a part of the economy even before Prohibition, which leads us to Hannah Weinberger, the first female winemaker of California in the 1880s. 

When Weinberger’s husband, John, was shot dead in March 1882, she took over his winery and assumed his role as the Bank of St. Helena’s director. She appeared in the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris as the only female Californian vintner to win a silver medal in the wine competition. 

The Weinberg property grew to about 35 acres before John died, and it has now become a part of William Cole Vineyards, north of St. Helena. Weinberg ran the winery until 1920 when Prohibition forced her to close. 

Sarah Morphew Stephen 

When it comes to the most proficient women and wine history, it’s hard not to talk about Sarah Morphew Stephen. Today, about half of the candidates for the Master of Wine title constitute women. But this wasn’t true until recently \ when Stephen earned the MW initials in 1970. 

She found interest in wine production when she was 11 years old and helped tread grapes to make table wine with her friend Quinta. At 17, she tried to become a trainee for Symingtons in Porto. But they denied her application because of her gender. But fortunately, she earned a scholarship to Bordeaux University, where she studied enology and worked with Emile Pynaude. 

Her achievements paved the way for other women to pursue the Master of Wine Title. She is now retired and lives in the Edinburgh area. 

Conclusion 

Women may have had a rough history in the wine industry, but it did not stop them from achieving great things. You can check out https://thisdayinwinehistory.com/ to learn more about the wonderful history of wine.