The wine industry has been dominated by men for centuries. But times are changing at last.
Though there’s a long way to go until there are as many women as men working in the wine world, female winemakers are now making an impact across the industry, producing top-quality wine everywhere from New Zealand to France. More female wine buyers are making a difference too, ensuring we can actually get our hands on the best wine produced by these trailblazing women.
We’re not talking about wines with a female celebrity’s name on the front either. We searched for wines actually produced by women behind the scenes who oversee the entire process including grape growing, harvesting, fermentation and deciding exactly how the final product tastes. It’s these women who are changing the industry for the next generation of females.
However, it's not always easy to spot a wine made by a female winemaker, especially if you’re grabbing a bottle during your supermarket shop. Wine makers are rarely mentioned on the front label so it’s worth studying the bottle or looking at information online if you want to actively support women in wine. Then you can easily repeat-buy in future if you like it.
To make life simple, we’ve found some of the best wines made by women from all over the world to give you a head start. From a delicate English sparkling to a gutsy American red with the odd fruity rosé thrown in to see you through summer, there’s a wine to suit every occasion and taste.
How we tested
For each one, we tried it on its own and with a variety of suitable food including charcuterie, roast chicken and even good old fish and chips, judging its aromas, appearance and taste to find the ones we loved the most. These are all wines we’d be happy toasting International Women’s Day on March 8 but also drinking all year round too.
Best wines made by women at a glance:
- Best overall: Finca Constancia Entre Lunas Organic Tempranillo 2020 - £13.95, Cheers Wine Merchants
- Best English still wine made by a woman: Simpsons’ Wine Estate Railway Hill Rosé - £20, Simpsons’ Wine Estate
- Best red wine for a roast dinner: Giant Steps Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2022 - £32.20, VINVM
- Best New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc: Emma Marris Sauvignon Blanc 2023 - £11.99, Majestic
- Best French white wine: Le Charme Sauvignon Blanc by Christine Cabri - £8.99, House of Townend
- Best sparkling wine made by a woman: Henners Foxearle English Sparkling Brut 2018 - £39.99, Virgin Wines
- Best luxury red wine made by a woman: The Prisoner Red Blend 2021 - £55.50, VINM
- Best white wine for a special occasion: ‘To Kalon Reserve Fumé Blanc 2020’ from Robert Mondavi Winery - £72.15, VINM
- Best wine to save for later: Chateau du Seuil Graves Rouge 2019 - £17.99, Virgin Wines
- Best classic Chardonnay: Robert Oatley Signature Series Chardonnay - £12.50, Co-op
- Best food-friendly white: Monte del Fra Custoza Superiore Sexaginta 2018 - £25.99, Naked Wines
- Best red wine with Italian food: M&S Collection Chianti Classico Riserva Poggio Tosco - £16, Ocado
- Best wine for summertime: Tesco Finest Provence Rosé - £10, Tesco
Shop the best below
Finca Constancia Entre Lunas Organic Tempranillo 2020
- Best: Overall
- ABV: 14 per cent
- Winemaker: Beatriz Paniagua
- Grape: Tempranillo
- Country of origin: Spain
If you’re looking for a wimpy wine you can throw back without noticing, look away now. This powerful full-bodied wine is made for savouring, full of bold flavours and intense aromas including ripe black fruit and spice. Aged for eight months in French and American oak barrels, it has a rich earthiness, moreish notes of coffee and chocolate and a long finish that will leave you swooning.
It's made by Beatriz Paniagua, who joined Finca Constancia in 2010 after working at wineries in several top Spanish regions where she won prizes for her outstanding wine. She now produces vino to the strictest organic rules using grapes grown on specific plots of land, fertilised only with decomposed plant material amongst ground cover plants and vegetables to give the soil more nitrogen. The vines are even cultivated using biodynamic techniques that follow the phases of the moon and the positions of the planets. It’s no wonder it tastes out of this world.
Buy now £13.95, Cheers Wine Merchants
Simpsons’ Wine Estate Railway Hill Rosé
- Best: English still wine made by a woman
- ABV: 12.5 per cent
- Winemaker: Den’e Van Wyk
- Grape: Pinot Noir
- Country of origin: England
English sparkling gets all the glory but there are also some excellent homegrown still wines worth seeking out. This one comes from Simpsons’ Wine Estate, who are celebrating IWD this year by raising funds for Be Inclusive Hospitality, a social enterprise and not-for-profit organisation that aims to foster an inclusive and equitable hospitality sector.
The wine is made by one of the Simpsons’ Co-Winemakers, Den’e Van Wyj, who was awarded a special Merit at the WineGB Rising Star Awards. Born in the South African Winelands, she studied at Stellenbosch University and moved to the UK in 2020 to pursue winemaking. Her pale pink rosé from the North Downs of Kent is a real delight. Full of bright strawberry and watermelon aromas with a pop of peach, it's made for drinking in the garden on an English summer’s day.
Buy now £20.00, Simpsons’ Wine Estate
Giant Steps Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2022
- Best: Red wine for a roast dinner
- ABV: 13.5 per cent
- Winemaker: Melanie Chester
- Grape: Pinot Noir
- Country of origin: Australia
Upgrade your Sunday roast with this knockout Pinot Noir from the Yarra Valley region in Australia. It’s made by Melanie Chester who has already picked up several awards working in esteemed wine regions around the world and was named Young Winemaker of the Year by Gourmet Traveller WINE magazine in 2015. A keen collector of wines for her personal cellar, she’s now Head of Winemaking and Viticulture at Giant Steps which cultivates high-quality Chardonnay and Pinot Noir fruit.
This one comes from 2022, a year which produced high-quality grapes with good natural acidity and bags of flavour. It’s smooth as silk in the mouth, with a rush of cherry and blackberry, a gentle hit of oak and a fresh finish that’s made for the Sunday lunch table. Serving roast chicken? Go for Melanie’s refreshing Giant Steps Yarra Valley Chardonnay instead.
Buy now £32.20, VINVM
Emma Marris Sauvignon Blanc 2023
- Best: New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc
- ABV: 13 per cent
- Winemaker: Emma Marris
- Grape: Sauvignon Blanc
- Country of origin: New Zealand
Wine-making talent obviously runs in the Marris family. Emma is one of the four daughters of Brent Marris, best known for his mega-selling Sauvignon Blanc, The Ned. Now Emma is a winemaker at Marisco Vineyards and has launched a series under her own name exclusive to Majestic.
If you already love NZ Sauvignons – especially The Ned – you won’t go far wrong with this. It’s a real tropical triumph, with lip-smacking notes of apple, lime, gooseberry and lemongrass and a lively acidity to knock your socks off. It's crisp and bold and would go down a treat with a spicy Thai stir-fry.
Buy now £11.99, Majestic
Le Charme Sauvignon Blanc by Christine Cabri
- Best: French white wine
- ABV: 11.5 per cent
- Winemaker: Christine Cabri
- Grape: Sauvignon Blanc
- Country of origin: France
There’s not much Christine Cabri doesn’t know about wine. Growing up, her father produced wine to sell through the local merchant and Christine is now a revered winemaker in her own right as an Oenologist, Research & Development and Wine Production Manager at Plaimont Producteurs, a co-operative in South-West France.
The region’s whites are known for their complex aromas and crisp, fruity freshness and this Sauvignon Blanc is a ridiculously drinkable example. It’s zesty and light and chock-full of citrus and gooseberry flavours. A subtle grassy undertone and high acidity mean it will work well with a bowl full of pesto pasta or even a flavour-packed Mexican meal.
Buy now £8.99, House of Townend
Henners Foxearle English Sparkling Brut 2018
- Best: Sparkling wine made by a woman
- ABV: 12.5 per cent
- Winemaker: Colette O’Leary
- Grape: Chardonnay blend
- Country of origin: England
It’s not easy to get your hands on champagne made by a woman, but that doesn’t mean female fizz is off the agenda. Instead, choose this wonderful sparkling from a coastal vineyard in East Sussex, made using the traditional Champagne grape combination and method.
Only 5000 bottles were made of this vintage bubbly by a small three-person team led by winemaker extraordinaire Collette O’Leary. She turned to winemaking after years working in marketing when she decided to follow her passion instead, trained in Viticulture & Oenology and went on to become Estate Manager and Head Winemaker at Henners Winery. Full of apple, brioche and lemon flavours, this sparkling is a real stunner that will add elegance to any occasion (even if you’re only planning a Friday night box set binge).
Buy now £39.99, Virgin Wines
The Prisoner Red Blend
- Best: Luxury red wine made by a woman
- ABV: 15.5 per cent
- Winemaker: Chrissy Wittmann
- Grape: Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Shiraz, Charbono
- Country of origin: USA
Chrisy Wittmann never intended to make wine. After studying Ecology and Systematic Biology at university, she became fascinated with soil and its role in wine production while analysing samples of wastewater and soil in a lab. She never looked back and eventually moved to Napa Valley to join The Prisoner Wine Company, who work with over 100 growers to source the region’s best fruit for their wine.
Just drinking this feels luxurious. A complex blend of several exceptional red grapes, it’s a rich, warming wine that bowled us over with flavours of cherry, raspberry, blackberry and silky vanilla coupled with a long finish and an indulgent, velvety texture. If you’re out to impress, open it to serve with steak and you won’t go far wrong.
Buy now £55.50, VINVM
To Kalon Reserve Fumé Blanc 2020 from Robert Mondavi Winery
- Best: White wine for a special occasion
- ABV: 14.5 per cent
- Winemaker: Genevieve Janssens
- Grape: Sauvignon Blanc
- Country of origin: USA
Obviously, at this price, this isn’t a white you’ll knock back with a bowl of pasta on a Wednesday evening. However, if you’re a dedicated white drinker looking for a seriously special bottle, this is a real treat.
It’s made by Genevieve Janssens at the Robert Mondavi Winery, considered one of the best wineries in North America. Moroccan-born Genevive is Chief Winemaker who first joined the winery in Napa Valley in 1978. She received one of the industry’s highest honours in 2010 when she was named Wine Enthusiast’s Winemaker of the Year and consistently produces some of the world’s most celebrated wines.
This not-your-everyday white is pure elegance in a glass. Made with premium Sauvignon Grapes, it’s delicate but deliciously complex, with flavours of passionfruit, peach and toasted oak, a brisk acidity and a long finish that will have you dreaming of a second bottle (if you could afford it).
Buy now £72.15, VINVM
Chateau du Seuil Graves Rouge 2019
- Best: Wine to save for later
- ABV: 13 per cent
- Winemaker: Nicola Allison
- Grape: Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot
- Country of origin: France
Welsh-born Nicola was actually working as a GP when she discovered a love of wine-making while living in New Zealand. She relocated to Bordeaux with her husband and has since deployed her science background to ensure her family’s wine estate is completely organic and chemical-free, spearheading the organic winemaking movement in France despite operating in one of its most traditional regions.
Though this wine is not made using historic Bordeaux methods, it has all the hallmarks of a great red from the area. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, it’s a delightfully fruity drop, with bold tannins, a mellow oak and a rush of blackcurrant and cherry with a hint of pepper to spice things up. Better yet, it’s a HVE certified wine which means its production prioritises the protection and enrichment of the environment. A dream to drink straight away, it will be even better with age and can be stored to sip until the end of 2030 if you can wait that long.
Buy now £17.99, Virgin Wines
Robert Oatley Signature Series Chardonnay
- Best: Classic Chardonnay
- ABV: 13 per cent
- Winemaker: Debbie Lauritz
- Grape: Chardonnay
- Country of origin: Australia
If you tend to swerve Chardonnay, this could be the wine to change your mind. Made by Debbie Lauritz at this highly-respected wine estate in New South Wales, Australia, this white has everything you could want from the classic – although much-maligned – grape.
The cooler climate of this Australian region is ideally suited to top-notch Chardonnay grapes that mature slowly to produce complex, refined wines that work wonders on the dinner table. Well-balanced with bright fruit flavours of pineapple, citrus and peach, this one has a creamy richness softened with lifting acidity, good minerality and spice aplenty. Try it with chicken or fish in a creamy sauce for the ultimate Chardonnay combo.
Buy now £12.50, Co-op
Monte del Fra Custoza Superiore Sexaginta 2018
- Best: Food-friendly white
- ABV: 13 per cent
- Winemaker: Marica Bonomo
- Grape: Garganega bled
- Country of origin: Italy
Looking for a white wine with backbone? This floral, full-bodied number makes a real impact so it can more than hold its own alongside almost any food from roast meats to strong cheeses.
It’s made by Marica Bonomo, who was recently voted Winemaker of the Year 2023 and runs a solar-powered winery near Lake Garda in Veneto, Italy that avoids using pesticides and herbicides. A third-generation winemaker, her family have been producing wine for nearly 70 years and Marica only uses grapes from her own vineyards.
The wine is aged for twelve months in oak so it really packs a punch with plenty of rich aromas and complex flavours of apricots, honey and citrus. With a marked spiciness on the palate, decent acidity and long finish, it has distinct similarities to a white Burgundy and will dazzle any dinner table.
Buy now £25.99, Naked Wines
M&S Collection Chianti Classico Riserva Poggio Tosco
- Best: Red wine with Italian food
- ABV: 13.5 per cent
- Winemaker: Daniele Prosperi
- Grape: Sangiovese
- Country of origin: Italy
There are few better matches than a great red wine and Italian food. If you’re a lover of lasagne or potty about pizza, this is one of the best wines made by women out there.
It’s crafted by Daniele Prosperi using the Sangiovese grape in Tuscany and is all you could want from the ultimate Italian red. Powerful and poised, it bursts with heady aromas of cherries and chocolate with an almost savoury richness and spicy tannins on the palette. It’s also worth noting that if you’re keen to buy more wine made by women, M&S is a good place to start as most of its wine team and all its in-house winemakers are female. It’s fabulous, fruit-forward rosé, M&S Quintessence Mediterranee Azur Bleu is another great bottle to grab if you’re looking for something a little lighter.
Buy now £16.00, Ocado
Tesco Finest Provence Rosé
- Best: Wine for summertime
- ABV: 13 per cent
- Winemaker: Veronique Florentin
- Grape: Grenache, Shiraz, Cinsault, Carignan, Mourvèdre
- Country of origin: France
We can’t resist the lure of a pink wine at the merest hint of sun and a pale Provençal is our go-to glass so we’re thrilled to find one produced by a female winemaker. This is made by Veronique Florentin at the Castel Frère winery, which was established by a group of siblings in 1949 and is now the third-largest producer of French wines in the world market.
It has all the pale pink loveliness you’d expect from a rosé from this region with plenty of sun-soaked strawberry, redcurrant and peach flavours but not too much sweetness. Nicely dry with a crisp bite, we’ll be keeping a bottle chilled in the fridge for whenever we need to pretend that we’re on a beach in the South of France.
Buy now £10.00, Tesco
Verdict
You won’t go wrong with any of these wonderful wines made by women but we were seriously wowed by Finca Constancia Entre Lunas Organic Tempranillo 2020 for its full-bodied flavour and intriguing organic production. When the occasion calls for bubbly, however, go straight for Henners Foxearle English Sparkling Brut 2018, a truly fantastic fizz made right here in the UK.
