Women of Wine: The Rise of Women in the Global Wine Industry

This inspiring, engagingly written book, with its personal approach and global scope, is the first to explore womenand#8217;s increasingly influential role in the wine industry, traditionally a very male-dominated domain. Women of Wine draws on interviews with dozens of leading women winemakers, estate owners, professors, sommeliers, wine writers, and others in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere to create a fascinating mosaic of the women currently shaping the wine world that also offers a revealing insidersand#8217; look at the wine industry.

To set the stage, Ann B. Matasar chronicles the historical barriers to womenand#8217;s participation in the industry, reviews post-World War II changes that created new opportunities for them, and pays tribute to a few extraordinary nineteenth-century women who left their mark on wine despite the odds against them. She then turns to her primary topic: an accessible discussion of women associated with some of the most prestigious wineries and institutions in both the Old and New Worlds that emphasizes their individual and collective contributions. Matasar also considers issues of importance to women throughout the business world including mentors, networking, marriage, family, education, self-employment versus the corporate life, and risk taking.

and#8220;A thorough treatise. . . . The portraits reveal a great deal about the challenges women face in the industry.and#8221;

"Ann Matasar has documented the struggles and strategies of contemporary women to succeed and lead in wine. Her stories are diverse, instructive, powerful, and poignant."and#151;Zelma Long, Zelphi Wines

"An engaging story that pays homage to the women at the crossroads of wine's cultural history. With penetrating insight and deep affection, Ann Matasar tells the story of these pioneering women through fascinating oral histories."and#151;Anne Rosenzweig, founding board member of the International Association of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs

"Ann Matasar has performed the tricky task of addressing women's roles in the wine world without resorting to tiresome gender stereotypes. Her book proves that, despite the challenges, women make an ever-increasing contribution to wine at every level of production, commerce, and appreciation."and#151;Mary Ewing-Mulligan, MW, co-author of Wine Style and Wine For Dummies, and President, International Wine Center

Ann B. Matasar is Professor of Business Emerita at the Walter E. Heller College of Business Administration at Roosevelt University. She is the author of Corporate PACs and Federal Campaign Financing Laws (1986) and coauthor of The Impact of Geographic Deregulation on the American Banking Industry (2002) and Research Guide for Womenand#8217;s Studies (1974).

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Women Need Not Apply

2. The Changing Face of the Wine Business

3. A Toast to the Past

4. Viticultrices et Propriand#233;taires

5. Le Donne del Vino

6. The New World: California

7. The New World: The Southern Hemisphere

8. Knowledge Is Power

9. Uncorking Sales

10. Past, Present, Future

Appendix 1: List of Interviews

Appendix 2: Women Masters of Wine

Appendix 3: Women Master Sommeliers

Glossary

Bibliography

Index