I grew up in Ireland where my parents had a small, family- run garden centre business. It’s clear to me in hindsight that while the business was owned and run jointly by both of my parents, my mother was the driving force. She managed every element of the business from ordering stock and hiring staff to sales and accounts, all while raising four children. She taught me about great customer service and the importance of taking care of your regular customers, what she described as the ‘bread and butter’ of every small business.

When we talk about New Zealand wine, we are for the majority talking about small to medium-sized businesses rather than massive companies. We make 1% of the world’s wine and ours is a wine world built on, and still run by, family-run wineries – small businesses with a number 8 wire mentality and a can-do attitude where it’s all hands on deck at harvest. The winemaker could also be the exporter, brand manager and even the cellar- door host if someone calls in sick.

In a small team leadership isn’t abstract. Decisions made at the kitchen table ripple straight through cashflow, stock, staff and sales. There’s no corporate hierarchy or need for memos. When leadership works, you feel it immediately, but even more so when it doesn’t. And so many resilient, small wine businesses in New Zealand today are already led, co-led or commercially driven by women doing incredible things.

I’ve noticed, however, that lately the conversation surrounding women in wine has increasingly ventured into the realms of ‘should’ and I would like to refute that. Having women in wine is no charitable act or diversity obligation. We don’t need more women in wine because it’s the ‘right thing to do’, we need more women because women are good for the bottom line.

I accept that statement isn’t wildly new anymore. The stats are all there in the world of big business as to why there should be more women in boardrooms, but if your boardroom is actually the smoko room – because why would you have a boardroom if you lack an actual board – what then?

While the technical skill of winemaking hasn’t changed too much, everything else around it has and winemaking skill alone is no longer enough. I cringe when people talk about a specific wine as a ‘best-kept secret’ as to me that just translates to ‘slowly going out of business’. Growth today comes from relationship-driven sales, disciplined brand positioning and the ability to connect directly with the consumer in what is an extremely crowded market, both at home and abroad.

The direct-to-consumer piece is no longer a nice to have or a side income stream and the slamming shut of restaurant doors during Covid made that abundantly clear. Now, it can be the difference between profitability and vulnerability. Successful cellar doors, wine clubs and mailing lists which lead to direct sales with higher margins can be game changing, but only if actively managed. Women tend to be more skilled at this type of engagement. They build well-structured communities, communicating regularly, clearly and, if necessary, emotively. They know, as my mother did, that repeat custom from regulars is worth more than that one-off export order that gets over the line with a sigh of relief from the person (usually a woman) in charge of payroll. I don’t need to tell anyone that predictable cashflow is the gold standard when running a business.

While I’m not suggesting that men lack these skills (heaven forbid), the evidence suggests that they do come more naturally to women. Sharp commercial instincts come out of necessity. Whether it’s making the weekly grocery budget stretch that little bit further or running a wine business that the family survives upon, planning, measuring and the ability to pivot quickly – usually around childcare or other domestic commitments – are not soft skills, they’re survival skills.

There’s another side to it, too. In the role of winemaker as well as my own personal disciplines – judging and writing – the ability to assess wine is vital. Scientific research shows that 35% of women versus 15% of men are ‘supertasters’, biologically equipped with a higher density of tastebuds and therefore the ability to taste more flavours. Women have 40% more cells in the olfactory bulbs, the part of the brain that is responsible for smell and maintain better taste function longer in life. Turns out when it comes to wine, women are quite literally built for the job.

So let’s just stop talking about hiring and promoting women because they’re women. Let’s recognise that in an industry dominated by small producers, the traits that drive success today are traits many women in New Zealand wine already bring to the table. Women aren’t a diversity initiative, they’re a competitive advantage and I for one, will most certainly drink to that.