Throughout among Tom Sietsema’s weekly Q&A talks in late July, the tenured Washington Post food critic struggled to name a single female sommelier in the D.C. location. Identifying a missed opportunity to yell out talent, a basic Google doc was born to recognize local ladies leaders in red wine.
Sietsema’s summertime snafu has actually snowballed into something special. In a matter of months, the crowd-sourced list has ballooned to 300-plus female sommeliers, wine makers, professionals, consultants, merchants, and teachers across D.C., Virginia, and Maryland. The grassroots group, called Ladies of Wine (WOW), hosted its very first sold-out event in October at Bottles White Wine Garden. To make more space, the second one will be at Union Market district’s stretching La Cosecha food hall on Sunday, December 11 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
WOW’s female creators consist of three sommeliers (Vanessa Cominsky at Status Ledroit; Erika Parjus at Bottles Red Wine Garden; and Maxwell alum Niki Lang, now a white wine specialist and realtor); Angie Duran, director of operations at Bottles Wine Garden; and Tammy Gordon, an expert at Weygandt White wines.
The growing spreadsheet includes a Google map tab to pinpoint women-run wineries and dining establishments with female-led programs. Members list their Instagram manage as their contact info. It’s a one-stop industry resource that surprisingly wasn’t readily available in D.C. until now.
” It became larger than the Tom story,” states Gordon. “It became this entire positive thing. I’ve met a lot of females in wine from sourcing the list and following people on it.”
The list has also set out the foundation for the makings of a brand new not-for-profit in the brand-new year. WOW’s three-pronged mission is to “create community” by means of social media and hosted occasions; “educate more women in wine” by funding scholarships for red wine accreditations and supplying mentor-mentee opportunities; and “support market career development” with a job bank and linking females to media and market trips.
” You find these groups in tech, science, and all various kinds of industries. It’s natural there should be one for wine,” states Gordon.
Restaurateurs can turn to the list to reach out to potential hires or ask about purchasing bottles. If a daily client wishes to track down the particular white wine they liked at a dining establishment, they can DM its sommelier.
The group likewise offers recently accredited sommeliers a possibility to get their names out there.
” Given that COVID there’s been an increase of skill. We’re getting everybody together who have never ever even met each other,” says Lang.
The perk of a post-pandemic world is the return to in person interactions that were limited to at-home Zoom tastings just two years ago, states Duran.
Wine experts “in some cases don’t get the credit for all the time, cash and energy they invest into their craft,” states Duran. Her months-old West End red wine bar Bottles White wine Garden caters to severe oenophiles and beginners alike with curated choices from both pioneering and rising wineries all over the world.
” Erika [our sommelier] is always putting out something fun and unexpected me. She’s always tasting and trying to put things on people will be excited about,” says Duran.
Lang states the group prepares to meet with not-for-profit facilitators and lawyers in January to get its 501( c)( 3) status rolling and figure how to administer donations towards things like scholarships and education. WOW is presently collecting feedback on current market needs and how the not-for-profit can assist.
At WOW’s first occasion in October, 12 female sommelier names selected of a hat discussed their puts of option. Two renowned regional sommeliers– expert and Charlie Palmer alum Nadine Brown and Cork’s co-owner Diane Gross– each shared a red wine from their choices by the glass.
” I was blown away by the number of individuals wanted to be there and support it and just the energy in the space,” says Lang, of WOW’s 130-person inaugural event. “We really want to keep momentum going and got the word out.”
The second event is designed to be more of a meet-and-greet celebration along with pours from La Cosecha’s resident Latin red wine bar and merchant Grand Cata: