The MYSA x WWOW wine club is not only about enjoying the best natural wines, receiving fun swag, getting access to exclusive tastings and making a donation to support womxn in wine. It’s also about connecting the wine industry with wine drinkers in an authentic space. In this virtual discussion, we had originally set out to review womxn leadership in winemaking and the state of equality in the wine industry. However, as we invited our guest speakers to participate in the virtual roundtable, our topic naturally morphed into the true face of the natural wines category. So, we’ll return to that gender study at a later date because there are some bright spots for womxn finding top positions within natural wines.
For now, we are excited to dig into how deep this group went on the topic of the new generation of natural winemakers and industry folks. The discussion was lively as our speakers work within various areas of the business around the world, including sommeliers, winemaking, retail and journalism. Cliff Notes: This generation will make change happen. We chatted about everyone’s first experiences working with natural wines, the impact of global shipping and trade playing a role in the conversation about sustainability, human rights and labor practices, fair industry pay, the term ‘clean wine’ as a gateway into natural wines, riding tractors to break into the natural wine world, and why is everyone so obsessed with sulfur?
Co-hosted by Holly Berrigan of MYSA Natural Wine and Rania Zayyat of Wonder Women of Wine, this discussion had the goal of helping the wine industry move forward by acknowledging the past actions of the business and choosing to do better now and in the future.
Meet our speakers:
Rachel Signer of Pipette Magazine and Persephone Wines
Eric Moorer of Domestique Wines
Bree Stock MW of Ltd. + Wines, Constant Crush Wines
Martha Stoumen of Martha Stoumen Wines
Without further ado, grab a glass of your favorite natural wine and tune into the video to ponder with us:
- Should we be drinking more locally?
- Should there be transparency by winemakers about their labor practices just as they are about their farming and sulfur?
- Should customers be asking winemakers how they wash their grapes?
- Is ‘clean wine’ just a marketing gimmick?
- How do you go about getting a harvest internship?
The more you know.
We also have a podcast version of this on the MYSA Natural Wine Podcast wherever you listen!
