Some are popularizing hybrid grapes, while others are experimenting with co-fermented wines. But one thing all of these women winemakers have in common? They’re defying the industry’s expectations and carving a new path forward for natural wine.
Chenoa Ashton-Lewis, Ashanta Wines
West Coast wines generally have a reputation for being big and super conventional, but Ashanta – a California label started by Chenoa Ashton-Lewis and her partner, Will Basanta – is the complete opposite. A third-generation winemaker with an appreciation for the arts (her grandfather grew grapes and hosted film festivals in wine caves), Ashton-Lewis sees winemaking as a spiritual practice. This approach translates to a winemaking style that embraces uncertainty and favours minimal intervention. As a result, the label abides by zero-zero standards: natural wines with zero additives, including sulphur. Ashton-Lewis and Basanta source their grapes from local family-operated vineyards that farm organically or biodynamically, and they forage for wild fruits to craft co-ferments. Founded in 2020, Ashanta has already managed to produce exciting bottles like the Mawu, a herbaceous blend of Merlot and Chardonnay, and the Ashanta Brutal!!!, a juicy pét-nat of French Colombard co-fermented with elderberries from the San Gabriel Mountains.
ashantawines.com
Katie Worobeck, Maison Maenad
Originally from Ontario, Katie Worobeck now makes some of the most exciting wines coming out of the French region of Jura. After honing her craft in her home province, Worobeck packed her bags in 2017 and left for an internship with Jura giants Anne and Jean-François Gavenat. There, she deepened her understanding of natural wine and its many challenges. (It’s trickier, for example, to control the fermentation process without synthetics.) Maison Maenad – named for the wild women from the stories of Dionysus (the Greek god of wine and ecstasy) – sits on a three-hectare plot that produces all Jura varieties (Chardonnay, Savagnin, Pinot Noir, Poulsard and Trousseau), which Worobeck transforms with precision into vibrant and energetic juices.
instagram.com/maison_maenad
Mackenzie Brisbois, Trail Estate Winery
Ontario wines have long had a bad rep, but a new generation of winemakers is shaking things up. Mackenzie Brisbois from Trail Estate Winery, a small-batch winery in Prince Edward County, is just one example. It is Brisbois’ many interests that led to what she describes as a “Renaissance-style career” in winemaking, in part because it involves knowing about everything from history and geography to biology and chemistry. Since becoming Trail Estate’s winemaker and vineyard manager in 2015, Brisbois has taken the winery in a different direction, dividing its wine production into two separate lines. The first one offers more traditional juices produced with vinifera varietals like Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc, whereas the second is defined by artistic bottles with bright labels and features unexpected wines, like the fruity skin-contact Orange Nouveau (a summer-ready blend of Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscat), and Supersonic, a fast-selling cuvée made with concord grapes.
