Wine writing in the traditional media has long been somewhat of a boys club. Although there are a handful of women who have managed to penetrate the Riedel Ceiling, such as Jancis Robinson and Alice Feiring, the overwhelming majority of wine writers in print have been male. Thanks to the new DIY options that have sprung up with the advent of online media, women are not only evening out the numbers, they might be producing the best wine content available on the web.
While I’ve known several women bloggers who have been producing great content for quite some time, there are a couple of rockstars who have hit the scene more recently that really got me to thinking about the impact that women are making on the online wine world. After a little more thought, I came up with four women who are some of the absolute best producers of wine related content on the web. They are not just producing great content of professional quality; they are creating something unique that makes them stand out from the crowded field of bloggers and YouTubers.
Lisa Mattson – The Journey of Jordan Winery
Since Lisa started working on the Jordan Winery blog in January of 2010, she has consistently produced some of the highest quality winery content that you will find online. Not only is the technical quality of the video and photography impressive, it also has a style and point of view that really does a great job of conveying the personality of the winery. If a successful winery blog is about telling the story of the winery, than Lisa is one of the top story-tellers in the wine world today. Perhaps that is why the Jordan Winery blog recently won the 2012 Wine Blog Award for Best Winery Blog, an official recognition of the fantastic work that Lisa has been doing for some time. Take her beautiful content, sprinkle in a heap of great social media engagement and elegant website architecture, and you have the recipe for one of wine’s top online content producers.
Madeline Puckette – Wine Folly
In a short amount of time (her site is around 6 months old as of this posting date,) Madeline Puckette has become one of the most unique voices in wine’s new media. After watching her video profile of Washington’s Horse Heaven Hills AVA, I described her work as Wes Anderson meets Gary Vaynerchuk, but the truth is that her content is 100% unique. A certified sommelier with video and design chops, Madeline teams with her Wine Folly teammate Chad Wasser to create a unique blend of wine content that has a vibe and personality that you won’t find anywhere else. Although her content has broad appeal, Wine Folly seems like the perfect wine site for twenty and thirty-somethings; a great mix of solid educational content and millennial-friendly aesthetics. She could be well positioned to become the voice of a new generation of oenophiles. From great video to innovative infographics, Madeline has introduced herself as a force to be reckoned with in the world of online wine content.
Leslie Sbrocco – Thirsty Girl
Leslie Sbrocco is, quite simply, a force of nature. She is a rare talent who brings a unique energy to her content that just can’t be manufactured. Although her credentials start with traditional media, including television, print columns, and books, Leslie has also carved out a spot as a producer of online content. The same charismatic persona that has made her a sought after speaker and television personality, translates perfectly to her Thirsty Girl TV YouTube segments. Whether it is her educational wine videos, or her interviews with various producers and personalities in the wine world, Leslie consistently creates entertaining and informative online videos with great production values. As the face of media changes, we will continue to see traditional media producers venture into new media, but Leslie has gotten a jump on the migration and is already among the top producers of online wine content.
Courtney Rich – QuitWINEing
I don’t even know where to start with Courtney Rich’s opus to unique and off-beat experiential wine pairings and imaginative photography. There is, without a doubt, nothing else like it on the web. Don’t let the sexy Alice in Wonderland photo that serves as the cover image of the site fool you, there is some serious content beneath the entertaining photos that accompany every post. Courtney is another certified sommelier who is using innovative online content to disseminate wine knowledge to the masses. She knows her wine. Although she is not the first to try her hand at unconventional wine pairings (perfect wine pairing for Rejection anyone?) her unique style of writing and fun photos make her blog one to follow religiously. Can you think of a guy who is doing anything this unique, and at such a high level of quality? Yeah, I didn’t think so.
While this list is far from exhaustive, each of these women is creating something unique that is worth plugging into your RSS reader and checking out regularly.
Rock stars for sure Ben! Pretty cool that they’ve been recognized their due by a man.
Hard not to give these girls props. I am super-impressed with the quality of stuff that all these girls are doing, both technically and creatively. Someone at one of the WBC sessions was talking about how much blogging and social media had opened up the playing field for women, and it made me realize that some of my absolute favorite creators were women. Wanted to recognize the fantastic work that they are all doing. Thanks for the comment!
You. Are. Awesome! Thank you so much for the love! I truly admire all of these women for their uniqueness and ability to connect people with our beloved beverage! Although there are some amazing men discussing wine, it’s nice to see the ladies represent! Thanks for allowing your readers the opportunity to check us out!
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make it to the Wine Bloggers Conference, but hopefully I’ll have the opportunity to meet you soon!
Cheers…and keep up YOUR fantastic work! Glad to hear you were newly inspired at the conference:-)
Thanks Courtney. I love calling attention to ANYONE who is doing cool and creative stuff, but I definitely think that all of you on this list are among the best out there. The ladies are definitely bringin’ it in the blog world, so happy to give some props where they are due.
Hopefully you can make it to the next WBC. It’s always a great time, and I definitely did come back from Portland re-energized and ready to throw down some words. Cheers!
I have been in the wine industry for almost 15 years and you were correct in saying wine writing and media was a “boys club”. The ladies you featured have something different and unique to add to the otherwise mundane world of wine. Let’s face it, wine can be pretentious, dry and downright boring. I am falling in love with the world of wine all over again. Thank you for making it fun and showing each of your unique personalities while doing it.
Thanks Michele! I definitely think that there has been a somewhat monolythic voice to a lot of wine writing in the past, which is at least partially due to the disproportionate number of men who are involved in the biz. Diversity makes for a more interesting landscape. The fact is that in the pre-blogging world, we would be unlikely to have been able to enjoy any of these unique voices. Thankfully, the blogging world has removed the gatekeepers that would have kept these, and countless other talents (both male and female) from reaching us.
Thanks again for your comment!
All I can say is, “Wow.” When I got your tweet about working on a blog post, I just thought it was going to be a recap of WBC events and winners. I’m humbled and honored to be recognized within the company of these talented women. Madeline had only appeared on my radar recently via a #FF. Definitely look forward to checking out her work. I’ve admired Leslie for years, and met Courtney online last month. Your post makes me think it’s destiny that Courtney and I will meet and/or collaborate on some photo/video project someday. Thanks again. Great post.
Lisa, it was my pleasure. You have done such a fantastic job with Jordan, and I know that I am personally inspired by what you have done in my work with Alexandria Nicole Cellars. All of you are doing such amazing work, and I just wanted to highlight it.
You and Courtney should definitely get together for some collaboration. It would be an online supergroup.
NICE! GREAT calls on all of these ladies, they’re kicking some ass!
Thanks Joe. Let’s hear if for the girls!
Great selection of writers, gotta love Courtney’s work. Slightly different but just as relevant is Helen McGinn’s blog. See….
http://knackeredmotherswineclub.blogspot.com.au/
Worth a look for straighforward but really well informed comment.
Thanks Phil. I’ll have to check out Helen’s blog. So many great writers out there.
thanks so much ben! #honored. can i buy you a drink or three soon?? gotta keep up with the thirsty girl though…
Leslie, I will happily allow you to buy me a drink or three.
It was my pleasure to include you. You bring a professionalism to your online work that is rare. I think that having more people doing work of the quality that you are producing would elevate the profile of online content in general, so thanks for doing what you are doing.
Great choices!
Thanks Lori, glad that you enjoyed the list. Cheers!
Awesome women for sure…let’s hear it for the girls…
There are so many great women out there in the wine industry. These few are surely leaders that we can all learn from…
Thanks, I agree that there are some really great women in all facets of the industry. I’m glad I was able to highlight a few of them.
Nice to see a guy giving props… Great job!
Posso solo dire con sollievo che ho trovato qualcuno che sa realmente di cosa sta parlando! Lei sicuramente sa come portare un problema alla luce e renderlo importante. Altre persone hanno bisogno di leggere questo e capire questo lato della storia.