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A tale as old as time, women in wine baby! Matilde Poggi’s first harvest, on her family-owned 15th-century farmhouse, happened in 1984. She worked tirelessly at a time when large, quantity-driven firms and cooperatives dominated local production. Rather than following the masses, Matilde chose to concentrate on quality, revamping her vineyards to better express the area’s native grapes. Today, she is one of Italy’s most respected producers, and, in 2013 was elected President of the Federazione Italiana Vignaioli Indipendenti (Italian Federation of Independent Grape Growers or FIVI). More recently, she became the first Italian and first female president of the European equivalent, the European Confederation of Independent Winegrowers (CEVI).

Matilde has three daughters, to whom she’d like to pass on Le Fraghe one day (but we’re volunteering in case her girls don’t want it – wanna come?).

Hubby to the ‘H’ in pH, is but one of many monikers for Thinus Krüger – cowboy, maverick, rock star are just a few of the others. Big hair, big moustache, big ideas and big adventures are the hallmarks of his pioneering project, named after a Norwegian ship that attempted to sail to both the North & South Poles. He’s headed to the edges of the winemaking map to find what vineyards lie over the next horizon, resulting in audacious and unusual wines that make the world feel like the good place it should be.

Dynamo-duo, Pauline and Hanneke (pH – see?) are friends first and foremost, but they also make some pretty sensational wines – Paulette for Paulus Wine Co. and Hanneke for AA Badenhorst. On the side, they team up to make magic under their Vino pH label. They’re championing underdog grapes and making them into some of the coolest wines to come out of South Africa at the moment.

The story of Ottomani began with four friends who grew up together and turned a dream into reality. Not that far off from us girls at Crushed!

They graduated from the University of Florence with Oenology (that’s the science of wine) degrees and chose to separate for a while to get some exposure working in real wineries. With a few years of experience and some real savoir-faire in their back pockets, the boys came back together and purchased a farm of their own. In 2006, Ottomani was born with indigenous grape preservation and sustainability sowed into its mission statement.

Being called the people that started the international story of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is no mean feat! Started by Jane and Ernie Hunter before Marlborough was much more than farmland, Hunter’s has been winning all the awards since their first vintage. Despite Ernie’s tragic death just five years after their first vintage, the winery is still owned by the Hunter family and under the guidance of the indomitable Jane, continues to thrive.

“A dope-smoking political anarchist meets an upstanding young goody-goody sportsman at a mutual friends 21st” – 35 years and 3 kids later, they are the family behind Luddite Wines. After a few years abroad, Niels and Penny returned to South Africa and found their plot of land in Bot River. Niels had a definite plan as to how he wanted to make wine and Penny knew that she wanted to farm as “green” as possible. Everything had to be about the wine. No intervention, no shortcuts and staying true to only bottling what, hand on heart was the best.

Blair and Caroline Guthrie are making honest wines, farmed responsibly. Their baby side project (only 600 cases a year) is filled with so much love – their wines are comforting and lighthearted as a Sunday morning dance party in your bathrobe. Beneath that, they are strongly focused on preserving and encouraging the good in the world – environmentally, ethically and everything in between

Chad and Bree Stock, a husband-and-wife team, have merged their superpowers and unique backgrounds in wine to create Ltd. +, which emerged as a collaboration with farmers in the area, inspired to develop a diverse and sustainable wine landscape. The wines, often made from less common grape varieties adopting innovative techniques, are changing preconceived notions of Oregon wine. 

Alice Verburg, the middle child to Niels and Penny (who we know from the Saboteur White & Red) works with dad in the cellar at Luddite, adding a bit of fun & femininity to their wines. The culinary school grad, who has a couple of international harvests under her belt already, makes ONE barrel of her own wine every year that typically sells out at the speed of light – before she can even set any aside for herself!

The Montagne de Reims boasts some of the best Pinot Noir in the Champagne region, and Bouzy is its capital. The village of Bouzy and Champagne Paul Bara are practically synonymous. Many argue that he is their most renowned producer, being one of the rare Growers in a region inundated with the mass-produced wines of the large, corporate champagne houses. Although the property was built in 1860, it wasn’t until after the Second World War, Paul Bara began making his own champagne. Today Paul has retired, the winery is now in the hands of his daughter Chantale Bara.

Chad and Bree Stock, a husband-and-wife team, have merged their superpowers and unique backgrounds in wine to create Ltd. +, which emerged as a collaboration with farmers in the area, inspired to develop a diverse and sustainable wine landscape. The wines, often made from less common grape varieties adopting innovative techniques, are changing preconceived notions of Oregon wine.

Switzerland has a mild climate - not that we’re looking at extremes in New Zealand, but the opportunity to grow interesting and varied grapes was limited, at best, in Hans and Therese’s home country. In Marlborough, they’re free to grow almost anything they please (29 varietals and counting) - and by golly, do they do a good job of it!

Maori-owned and operated, this winery is taking sustainability to a whole other level. They are passionate about preserving their heritage which blends in beautifully with their philosophies around environmental conservation. Every member of this winery owns a small part of it, giving way to more than 4,000 owner families! What can we say, it takes a village to raise a beautiful wine baby!

The name says it all, really. Stand Alone is the passion project of 2nd generation winemaker, Xander Grier of Stellenbosch’s Villiera. He’s taking the reins and doing his own thing with grapes he loves while holding true to Villiera’s deep commitment to sustainability.

The very first winery in the Southern Hemisphere to farm using biodynamic practices, James and Annie Millton have stayed true to their practice since establishing The Millton Vineyard in 1984. Along their journey, they’ve raised a beautiful family. They’ve passed down their know-how to their children who now play key roles in some of Millton’s more avant-garde collections such as the “Crazy By Nature” which is some of our favourite juice!

Chad and Bree Stock, a husband-and-wife team, have merged their superpowers and unique backgrounds in wine to create Ltd. +, which emerged as a collaboration with farmers in the area, inspired to develop a diverse and sustainable wine landscape. The wines, often made from less common grape varieties adopting innovative techniques, are changing preconceived notions of Oregon wine.

They say, quite simply, that they are raising hand crafted wines along with their two daughters. But we think John & Tasha Seccombe are doing so much more than that! They’re raising the profile of forgotten grapes, reflecting on the heritage of a complicated wine producing country and thoughtfully capturing a new narrative of what that could become.

Their story began in 1971 when Susan Sokol and Bill Blosser first planted vines in Oregon’s Dundee Hills. Now second generation winegrowers, siblings Alex and Alison Sokol Blosser are passionately committed to their family’s legacy of creating world-class wines, through organic and sustainable methods, which express their distinctive hillside vineyards.