A Women’s Month retrospective on culture, inclusion, and the future of wine.
International Women's Month in March encourages the global community to celebrate progress, acknowledge leadership, and consider the course of development of industries.
Wine is no exception.
Wine is an inheriter of centuries of history - decades of work in the vineyards of Europe, centuries of elegant craftsmanship, centuries of rituals of tasting, matching, and narrating stories. The scenery is not novel: rolling vineyards, stone estates, candlelit dining rooms, and glasses of wine next to steak or cheese boards.
It is a beautiful tradition.
But it is a very specific one as well.
Since the wine industry frequently focuses its discourse on Eurocentric culture and Western cuisine, over 4.5 billion people in the world are in Asia, a region with completely different food cultures, culinary preferences, and social cuisine practices.
Asian food is colorful, shared, masked with spices, umami, fermentation, and aggressive flavors. Meals are shared. Tables are full. Flavors are dynamic.
And yet, over the decades, the wine business has mainly been based on the assumption that it would simply be able to transfer its traditions to all the tables worldwide.
The thing is: they do not usually.
Extending Tradition, Not Deletement.
We do believe that tradition should not go away at The Flying Winemaker.
But we do feel that it must increase.
The drink of the people should develop with the people who consume wine. It must adjust itself to new tables, new dishes, and even new forms of assembling. Chapter two of the wine is not leaving the past behind, but rather broadening the discussion to new flavors, new food cultures, and new voices that are shaping the global wine story.
And most of those voices are female.
Women Reinventing the Wine World.
And it is now, during International Women's Week, that it is best to applaud the women who are assisting in changing the face of the industry, whether it be in the vineyards and wineries or the laboratories, tasting rooms, or international markets.
Among them is one of our winemakers, Lilian Carter, who is the creator of the sparkling wine of The Flying Winemaker.
Lilian was brought up in Rutherglen, Australia, where vineyards were located all over. Wine was never an abstract concept - it was a constituent of day-to-day existence. She saw women running vineyards, running laboratories, and running wine companies. The exposure at an early age was important. It demonstrated to her what was feasible.
She then pursued oenology at the famous Roseworthy of the University of Adelaide, which is among the most admired wine schools in the world, and finally undertook the course of Advanced Wine Assessment in the Australian Wine Research Institute.
But it was not the end of her way in Australia.
Her world experience in working harvests and vintages in a variety of countries, with France, South Africa, China, and New Zealand, gave Lilian the chance to experience the work of winemakers worldwide and learn her skills in various climates, styles, and traditions.
Regardless of the foreign experience, the simplest things make her feel inspired the most, namely, being outside and working with the vines, as well as feeling the land between her fingers.
It is the relationship to the land that keeps the passion going.
And the end of that passion is results.
The Flying Winemaker Prosecco NV, 2024, King Valley, Victoria, by Lilian, won Best Prosecco at the Australian Sparkling Wine Show.
And a proud moment was her own--and ours.
Progress Is Happening
The questions, when discussing the issue of women in wine, tend to be about representation, leadership, and opportunity.
There is still work to do.
But progress is visible.
Today, there are 154 female Masters of Wine out of 427 that are in the world, and this is a great change as compared to the past generations. More women are becoming the future of the industry in the vineyards, wineries, and wine science institutions.
Lilian is a woman who is walking a line between two small children and dealing with the reality of harvest seasons, bottling days, and international travel.
Wine is not a nine-to-five job.
Nevertheless, it is well-worth every long day to those who love it.
A New Chapter for Wine
We think that the future of wine at The Flying Winemaker is more than just the gender representation issue.
It is also concerning cultural representation.
The future of wine should not be associated with the specific geography, tradition, or culture of dining. It is part of the millions of individuals worldwide reconsidering how wine should be a part of their modern lifestyle, particularly in Asia, where the food culture is very dynamic, communal, and in a state of continual development.
Wine must be on hotpot tables, Korean barbecue grills, chili crab feasts, and spicy Chinese dinners as much as it will be on the steak and cheese tables.
Tradition is not something that is locked in a cabinet that is periodically dusted down.
Tradition is alive.
It grows, adapts, and travels.
The wine future does not lie in tradition and innovation.
It is all about tradition growth - as a team.
In this International Women's Month, we give a glass raise to the women in vineyards, wineries, labs, restaurants, tasting rooms, and everywhere who are making that future.
Since the more voices that form part of the story make the wine richer, to all.
Curious what wine actually works with spicy food?
Explore The Flying Winemaker collection — crafted to pair with the bold, vibrant flavors of modern Asian cuisine.
👉 Discover wines designed for hotpot, Korean BBQ, chilli crab, and spice.
-- The Flying Winemaker Team