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Get To Know These Three Women Shaking Up The Wine & Spirits Industries

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My career in the wine and spirits industry began a little over 15 years ago. It doesn’t seem that long now, but when that time is measured in progress, it feels like centuries. I remember large scale whisky events with an over 85% male attendance, and scantily-clad women working from a script as they poured them whisky. In interviews, I was always asked what it’s like to be a woman wine buyer/editor/writer instead of what I thought about a certain product, trend or event. But in those 15 long years, not only has there been serious progress at blasting that so-called “glass ceiling” in the alcohol industry, more women than ever are spear-heading projects that change the way we drink, and helping to preserve the integrity of what’s in our glasses. 

I’m happy to say there are now so many women I’d love to feature in an article such as this—incredibly talented and altruistic individuals who excel as winemakers, master blenders, writers, bartenders and business owners—that they outnumber my capacity to mention them all. 

But there are some you may not be as familiar with as others. So to honor International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, a celebration that’s now over 113 years old, here are three rising stars in the liquor industry who are starting to make an impact. 

To tend the cellar, it starts at the vine

Alice Tétienne is the newly appointed cellar master at Champagne Henriot, having grown up in the Champagne region, with prior experience at Krug. Many women hold top winemaking roles around the world, but the role of Champagne Cellar Master has long been held exclusively by men. Tétienne believes it’s because the rigors of the job had traditionally involved tough manual labor, and, like the title suggests, took place mostly in dark cellars—not considered “women’s work”. However, modern technological innovations have shifted that role to be more creative and strategic—less of it taking place in the cellar and more in the vineyard and laboratory. “It’s more about a feeling involving the senses than a process,” she explains. 

But when studying the history of the wine, one repeatedly discovers stories of widowed grande dames (at Veuve Clicquot, for example) establishing the estates. Apolline Henriot, took over the estate from her late husband Nicolas in 1808. She is credited with defining Champagne Henriot’s signature style, predominantly Chardonnay-based with some Pinot Noir, selected from different parcels in the Champagne region. Tétienne says it’s her mission to uphold the quality of that house style—crisp and bright with a delicate mousse. 

That task now necessitates finding ways to navigate climate change. “If we don’t adapt, the wine will change.” For example, a hot summer will affect the acidity of the wine that’s necessary for its balanced flavor and cellar worthiness. “It’s a character that can be lost with time if we don’t do anything.”

Soon after joining Henriot, Tétienne launched the Alliance Terroir—a wine collective that works within Champagne and other wine-making regions to help preserve the quality of the grapes grown there. Together they research how the area’s individual microclimates affect the taste of wines made from grapes from each specific vineyard, and identify ways to preserve those characteristics despite new shifts in weather patterns. 

Tétienne says one of her favorite projects is Cuvée Hemera (current vintage 2005) only produced in the finest vintages from some of the oldest vines in the estate’s vineyards—the ones she is now tasked to guard—with the same proportion of wine from each cru. It’s named for the Goddess of Light. “I like that I can now have that connection to the light through the life of the Champagne.” 

Restoring lost American whiskey traditions

Nora Ganley-Roper is the co-founder of Lost Lantern Whiskey. The name reflects the mission: to shine a light on the lost tradition of American whiskey independent bottlers by highlighting great spirits from different distilleries. It’s a practice that used to be more common in the states before and just after Prohibition, and has always been popular in Europe, most recently with brands like Compass Box

The company was co-founded with her husband Adam Polonski in 2020. “Launching a brand with your romantic partner is definitely an interesting undertaking,” says Ganley-Roper. “There's no real separation between work life and home life, despite our best efforts. But the amazing thing, especially for a project like this, is that we have all of our goals naturally aligned.”

Aside from being half of the “tasting panel” that decides which whiskies are worthy of becoming a Lost Lantern bottling (they provide full transparency on the provenance of each one), she runs the operational side of the business. While Polonski, a former staff writer at Whisky Advocate, has been the “face” of the brand, she says “My point of view has naturally driven many of the decisions we've made for Lost Lantern.” 

Ganley-Roper comes to Lost Lantern first from Astor Wine & Spirits in New York City, and then moving on to become the chief of staff for the CEO of a music startup, and the Head of Member Experience at Knotel. This way she could develop a passion for whisky while learning the business skills she would need before taking the leap to start her own company. 

Mixing it - together

Dee Charlemagne, co-founder of AVEC premium mixers, poses an interesting question, though: “Why is it there aren’t more female-owned brands [in the adult beverage industry]?” There are numerous women in top creative positions—winemakers, master blenders and various administrative high positions—but the businesses themselves are still often controlled by men. 

Until now, the industry has been firmly based on a male-dominated hierarchy that descends from the top of corporate distribution channels. However, change is afoot, and more women are establishing their own wine, spirits and beer brands. Charlemagne, who has an advertising background, founded AVEC in 2019 with business school chum Alex Doman, who had experience in the UK as a food and beverage consultant. AVEC’s specialty is what has been a mostly unmet market in the US: delicious, low calorie, non-alcoholic carbonated beverages with authentic flavors and no artificial sweeteners. 

As a Black female co-brand owner, Charlemagne says she has made it her objective to identify, and try to have a conversation with, every woman beverage brand owner out there, and that mission is sadly a bit too easy because the numbers are still so relatively few. 

For Women’s History Month, AVEC has partnered with female-led spirit brands for special highball cocktails. The collaboration, available as bundles including glassware, will be available from Reserve Bar starting March 8th. These include: 

  • 21 Seeds (founders Kat Hantas, Sarika Singh and Nicole Hantas-Emanuel) Valencia Orange Tequila and AVEC Grapefruit & Pomelo with Riedel Ouverture Tequila Glasses ($77)
  • Harridan Vodka (Bridgette Taylor) and AVEC Yuzu & Lime as well as AVEC Jalapeño & Blood Orange ($84)
  • HH Spirits (launched by Harlem Haberdashery) Bespoke Rum and HH Bespoke Vodka and AVEC Ginger, as well as AVEC Yuzu & Lime ($140)
  • Uncle Nearest 1884 Small Batch Whiskey with AVEC Ginger, AVEC Hibiscus & Pomegranate, and 4 Markham Marquis by Waterford Double Old Fashioned Glasses ($182). Uncle Nearest was founded by Fawn Weaver to honor the legacy of Nathan “Nearest” Green, the first documented African American master distiller. His great-great granddaughter, Victoria Eady Butler, is the Master Blender. 
  • Whole set for $226 

In addition, there will be a virtual panel hosted by Wine Enthusiast's Emily Saladino on March 16th at 7:30 PM EST—click here to register. 

Ganley Roper has advice for burgeoning female entrepreneurs: “Find something that you are truly passionate about. A good idea in isolation is not enough. You need to be prepared to think about this one thing almost every waking moment for the first couple of years (and sometimes while you're asleep too!). Yes, we all set boundaries (or at least do our best to) but it's also important to acknowledge that ideas about your business or job will be percolating in the back of your head basically all the time. You have to be excited enough about what you're doing so that constant idea flow doesn't make you crazy. Not always an easy task but when you find the right thing, it can be invigorating and exciting.”

It’s time for a drink, ladies! I suggest it comes from a bottle of Westward Whiskey American Single Malt Women of Westward Benefit Barrel Barrel 2, benefitting Al Altro Lado (justice for migrants) and the Black Mamas Matter Alliance. Find it here.

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