Breaking The Glass Cork

It’s impossible to talk about Ontario wine without talking about women. There are the pioneers like Deborah Pratt, the behind-the-scenes third pillar that helped transform Inniskillin from scrappy upstart in the 1970s, to an internationally recognised brand by the 1990s. There are also the scientists like Debbie Inglis, Director of the Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute, whose research has helped countless local growers and winemakers to greater success.

Today, a new generation of women are sommeliers, educators and winemakers driving the industry forward. The most recent graduating classes of winemakers and sommeliers from Brock University and George Brown College are majority female. Less than two decades ago it was the opposite. But numbers never tell the whole story.

“It’s not like women just recently appeared on the wine scene in Ontario,” says Kelly Mason, winemaker at Domaine Queylus, The Farm and Honsberger Estate Winery. However, when she began interning in 2010 the barriers were isolation and the challenge of connecting with female colleagues. “It's only in the past few years that we’ve reached a critical mass and have a bigger collective voice.”

One result of this collective voice is that there are now enough women in positions of power to mentor each other. "When I was first invited to a women in wine panel I remember feeling: I wish I was invited for my wine, not my gender," says Peller Estates winemaker Katie Dickieson. "But I’ve realised it’s important to hear the voices of other women, learn from their experiences and feel that camaraderie. It makes us all better at our jobs."

While there is growth in the number of women in the local wine scene, the biggest barrier now isn’t entry, it’s retention. Dickieson is also a mother of two and understands this well. "Harvest at Peller is a marathon and I couldn’t do it without systems in place to support me and my kids." Her support comes largely from family who understand she can see months of 12 plus hour days at harvest. She’s grateful for the help, but acknowledges that families shouldn’t have to pick-up the slack for the industry. "Peller is great at having the right supports in place for me to be the best at my job, but smaller wineries might not be able to provide the same level of support."

While the winemakers craft the wines, it’s the sommeliers often introducing the wines to wine lovers. In a young cosmopolitan city like Toronto female sommeliers are having a greater influence on the buying public.

Jennifer Huether, the first female Master Sommelier in Canada and one of only 28 women worldwide to earn that title has seen how female sommeliers are gaining more recognition, getting higher profile jobs and running some of the best wine programs in the city by multitasking, collaboration and humility—skills she says women naturally bring to the job. But there’s still much progress to be made. “Things are a lot better than when I started 20 years ago, but let's be real: this is still a boys' club and many women aren’t achieving their full potential because the industry isn’t always accommodating women's needs," she says.

A pivotal issue is that women do the majority of the emotional labour in our society. Whether it’s caring for children, aging parents or both, women in the wine world face the impossible task of trying to balance family against a demanding job with little flexibility for time off and no options for job sharing.

Toni Weber, a sommelier in Toronto, is leaving the restaurant world in part because of systemic barriers and power dynamics that privilege men over women. "There are many amazing women working as sommeliers and general managers,” she says. “but we need to see more women in positions of ownership. Access to capital is at the heart of the issue. The boys club takes its most powerful form in finance, and only when this barrier is dismantled will we feel real change on the restaurant floor."

Despite barriers some women are using entrepreneurship to shake the wine world from its comfort zone and drive it to a more equitable place.

"We have a road paved by great female sommeliers. Now we are doing our part to build on that," says Krysta Oben, sommelier at Paris Paris who along with Nicole Campbell co-founded Grape Witches. The millennial pair have redefined wine education, focusing on natural wine and deftly integrating more traditional education with more playful events like dance parties and boat cruises. They make wine more accessible, experiential and fun for a wider audience.

"We wanted to create welcoming spaces for everyone, but particularly women, to learn about wine," notes Campbell. "As an industry we still have a long way to go to increase accessibility and diversity.”

The wine world's lack of diversity is an obstacle I know well. It was only a few years ago that a guest at a fine dining restaurant responded "but you’re Indian and a woman," when I informed him I was the sommelier. Real change won't happen until both women and men are involved in dismantling prejudice and recreating the systems for everyone to reach their potential in this industry.

As much as there are significant challenges, there’s also hope. "In many countries there are still misconceptions that women aren’t physically strong or capable so they are not the first choice for wineries. I've never felt that in Ontario," says Amélie Boury who moved from her native France to become winemaker at Chateau des Charmes. "I think it’s why I don't make a fuss about women versus men. We are a very supportive community here."