Women in Wine

According to recent industry studies, women account for 60 percent of all U.S. wine consumers. Industry insider Christy Fredrick completed an in-depth study last year on women and wine, and concluded that 77 percent of women make all or nearly all of the major wine purchases for their home.
The Northern Michigan wine industry is growing rapidly. Just ten years ago there were less than 10 wineries here, and today that number has reached 27 with another dozen projects in the works. So with women playing such a major role as consumers, what about their role in the wine industry itself, especially here in Northern Michigan? Men have dominated the wine industry for generations, from proprietors to winemakers to industry executives, and the same holds true for the Northern Michigan wine industry. But times are changing, and a close look at the wine industry here shows that women are and have been playing an important role in shaping its destiny.

THE START OF IT ALL
Probably the first female who played a very active role in the day-to-day winery operations was Debbie Simpson of Good Harbor Vineyards near Leland. Good Harbor opened in 1980, and as co-owner with her husband, Debbie was instrumental in several aspects of the winery operation.
Then there are Dr. Roberta Kurtz and the late Joanne Smart, who in 2000 opened Michigan’s first exclusively female-owned winery, Chateau de Leelanau near Suttons Bay. A few years back, they hired husband and wife winemaking team of John Fletcher and Vera Klococka of Canada to be the winemakers.
Over the years the region has seen several female tasting room managers and even a few female sales managers, and there are several wineries in the region that are owned by a husband and wife team.
There have been women who have worked in various production capacities, from harvesting to assisting in the cellar and in the winemaking process itself. So Northern Michigan really has had a female presence in its winemaking industry for several years, and all indicators show that women will continue to play an important role in its future.
Just recently the first female winemaker who is not an owner or partnered with her husband was hired in Northern Michigan. This is a major step as there are few women winemakers in the country, especially this side of the Mississippi River.
Here is a look at three women from different perspectives of the Northern Michigan wine industry.

Nicole Birdsall, Winemaker
On Saturday, November 10 in Atlantic City, the Third Annual “Women in Wine” event will take place to honor America’s top winemakers. The star-studded affair, hosted by celebrity insider Robin Leach and actress Lorraine Bracco of Soprano’s fame (Bracco is also a winemaker for Bracco Wines), will include 24 winemakers. The event is expected to raise $250,000 for breast cancer and domestic violence programs. However, there won’t be any winemakers on that list from Michigan because until just recently, Michigan didn’t have a female winemaker.
That changed two months ago, when Leelanau Cellars in Omena hired the first credentialed female winemaker in the state’s history. Nicole Birdsall may not be on the invite list for this year’s “Women in Wine” celebration, but no one should be surprised if she is at next year’s event.
Birdsall comes to Northern Michigan from California, where she spent the past six years as the organic winemaker at Bonterra Vineyards, part of the Fetzer Vineyards family. During her tenure with Bonterra, Birdsall won numerous awards, published several articles on winemaking for various industry publications and has earned the respect of her winemaking peers.
Her arrival to Northern Michigan was by accident.
“I wasn’t looking for a job, as I was content where I was at,” Birdsall said. “I was doing some research because I kept seeing ads in trade publications for ‘technical winemaker wanted’ and I was curious as to exactly what they were looking for, so I called a headhunter. After she explained to me what these wineries were looking for, she said. ‘Oh, by the way, there is this great opportunity in Michigan.’ Of course I was thinking to myself, Michigan? Do they have wineries?”
Birdsall had not come across wines from Michigan, but was at an event with California wine writer Dan Berger who had visited Michigan and was impressed with what he had tasted.
“Dan told me that Michigan, in particular Northern Michigan, was a region on the rise, and that he was impressed with the wines here, especially the whites, in particular the Rieslings,” said Birdsall. “So I met with Mike and Bob Jacobson, owners of Leelanau Cellars, and as they explained their vision, I was immediately sold.”
Bob Jacobson recalls that he and his father were also immediately sold on Birdsall.
“We were early in the process of searching for winemakers when we met Nicole and knew she was a perfect fit,” said Jacobson. “Her credentials, her passion and her personality are exactly what our vineyard and wine region needs.”
Birdsall grew up in California where she was a star athlete in high school, playing baseball, lacrosse, basketball and water polo. She obtained a degree in nutritional science from California Polytechnical State University (San Luis Obispo) where she lettered in lacrosse and water polo and worked at a brewpub. It was her brewpub work that led to her interest in winemaking.
“I started out bartending, but then I started nosing around the brewery as I had developed this real interest in the fermentation process,” said Birdsall. “Eventually the brewmaster let me help him and essentially I became a cellar rat doing odd jobs. But I didn’t see much of a future for me as a female brewmaster, and my parents didn’t like the idea of shelling out all that money on my college for me to continue as a cellar rat.”
So Birdsall decided to take her passion for fermatation to the wine industry, and landed a job on the bottling line at Korbel Champagne Cellars. She then made her way to the lab and returned to college to pursue her enology degree at California State University. Upon graduating and completing her internship at Bronco Wine Company, she joined the Fetzer organization and eventually became the organic winemaker for their Bonterra division.
Now she finds herself in Northern Michigan and is excited to be here. She sees the potential and looks forward to leaving her imprint and sharing her expertise.
“What impresses me most, and the advantage I see that this region has over California, is the terroir (a special shared sense of geographic/regional characteristics that give added personality to wine). There is a sense of place here for the grapes that are grown, and that was not always the case where I came from,” said Birdsall. “This sense of place is important, and I think this region is growing the right grapes that match climate and soil. It makes a difference. I just tasted some of our Pinot Noir from the barrel and it had Burgundian components, something I seldom got from California Pinots.”
Birdsall has had little time to meet with other winemakers from the area. She arrived at the start of harvest and has been working around the clock, as her colleagues have, during this crucial time for the industry. She looks forward to meeting with them as they meet during the winter months to taste each other’s wines. She sees a lot of opportunity for improvement to the winemaking process in the region and chuckles at the typical response she has received when she has put forward some suggestions.
“I am always told ‘that is a California thing’ but a lot of these principles and practices have nothing to do with California,” said Birdsall. “They are a winemaking thing. In fact, California is behind Australia when it comes to modern winemaking practices.”
Does Birdsall feel that as a female she brings a different perspective to the process then her male counterparts?
“I don’t want to stereotype but I think most men stick solely to the technical aspects of winemaking where some female winemakers might bring some emotional components into the mix,” said Birdsall. “When I was in California I was sensitive to parts of the fermentation process and often brought a certain sensitivity to all aspects of winemaking including in the vineyard and the guys around me would say ‘don’t worry about it,’ they were strictly technical.”
What about organic practices in Northern Michigan?
“I see some possibilities, but sustainability has to be a priority, and so I think organic principles can be applied over time here,” said Birdsall. “I will start with some soil nutrient practices and go from there.”
So what has been the biggest challenge since arriving?
“The hybrids. I had not worked with hybrid grapes at all in California, so getting used to them has been interesting,” said Birdsall. “I am quite impressed with Vignoles and its characteristics–it is similar to Viognier that has been popular in California.”
What has impressed you most about the region outside of the wines?
“I came from a town about the size of Traverse City in Northern California (north of San Francisco) and I wasn’t really sure what to expect. What has surprised me most is the culture here,” said Birdsall. “I live in Suttons Bay, and culturally there is more happening here than where I came from.”
Birdsall is excited about the 2007 vintage, but sees this year only having part of her signature on it.
“The process begins in the vineyard and I came at harvest. So the 2008 vintage will be the first with my complete signature on the wines,” said Birdsall.

Lucie Matthies, Proprietor
Lucie Matthies of Chateau Fontaine co-owns the winery - located between the villages of Cedar and Lake Leelanau - with her husband Dan. While Lucie leaves the winemaking process to her husband, she works at every other aspect of the operation. Spending her winters working as the ski shop manager at Sugar Loaf, and her summers in the tasting room at Good Harbor Vineyard, Lucie is right at home behind the tasting bar, serving the customers.
It was their friendship with the Simpsons at Good Harbor that led to Lucie and Dan planting a vineyard in 1989.
“It all started when Bruce asked us if we would grow grapes for him. We started planting a little bit each year and before we knew it, we had over 20 acres,” said Matthies. “Both Dan and I had a passion for wine, and so the topic of opening our own winery often took place at the dinner table.”
Eventually, the Matthies opened Chateau Fontaine in the fall of 2000. They work daily, but try and take Tuesdays for themselves.
“During the summer it is our day to be on the lake,” said Matthies. “We try and take a vacation or two (they just returned from a remote cabin stay in Canada) but this is a very labor intensive business.”
Chateau Fontaine has enjoyed much success in its eight years of existence because the Matthies are hands-on owners. Lucie’s smiling face and friendly demeanor is found daily at the tasting room, and Dan joins her on busy days and weekends. Lucie says it’s the behind-the-scenes work that the customers often are unaware of that keeps both her and Dan on the go.
“The paperwork is unbelievable. Between the state and the feds, it is a never ending battle,” said Matthies. “Then there are the hours spent in the vineyards, especially in the spring and during the fall harvest.”
Matthies relishes those vineyard times.
“It is peaceful and we have tremendous views of the Leelanau Peninsula in all directions,” said Matthies. “There is a lot of wildlife around, from coyotes to owls to bald eagles and of course deer.”
What impresses Matthies most about the wines from the region?
“I think it is the fact that we are expressing ourselves for who we are. We don’t make or try to make wines like those made in California,” said Matthies. “We make a Leelanau Chardonnay, and we are proud of that.”
Lucie takes great pride in their small but quaint tasting room. One must for all visitors is a trip to the restroom.
“Every day that someone comes in and uses it, they come out and tell everyone else they have to go in and check out our cork wall,” said Matthies. “I used to collect wine labels, but found keeping the corks of our favorite wines was a lot easier. We have corks from all over the world, including all the wineries from the area.”
While Chateau Fontaine has built its reputation around its white wines, including their award-winning Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminer, Matthies is pleased with their red wines as well.
“We always hear from people that they have heard Michigan makes great whites but not great reds,” said Matthies. “That is not the case, as we have been producing our Woodland Red for the past couple of years and it sells out. We get rave reviews on it and our distributor keeps asking for more.”

Liz Berger, Operations Manager/Corporate Officer
When Liz Berger joined Chateau Chantal on the Old Mission Peninsula in June of 1993, she became the first non-owner wine executive in Northern Michigan. Berger is the operations manager and serves as corporate officer in the capacity of treasurer.
Berger is a respected industry leader, and was appointed by Governor Granholm to serve on the Michigan Grape & Wine Industry Council. She chairs the
Promotions Committee, and has coord-inated several programs that have helped place a national spotlight on Michigan’s wine industry.
In addition to her work at Chateau Chantal, Berger has been a community activist and helped to create the Bay Bucks program (local currency) to promote the local economy. She has been an advocate for local products, cultural events and local agriculture.
Berger is energized by her work.
“I find it very intoxicating,” chuckles Berger. “I love working in a business that combines local agriculture, adds value by locally producing the end product, and then shows off our hard work in the tasting room. But Chantal has so much more, too, with our ability to meet people around the breakfast table in the B&B, or on the patio at Jazz at Sunset, or in cooking classes or wine seminars. I am proud of what we do and love to show it off to our visitors.”
Berger was also instrumental in the founding of the wine trail organization Wineries of the Old Mission Peninsula (WOMP), and she has worked with the other wineries of the region to dispel the myths about local wine. Berger believes that the industry has overcome the quality hurdle and must focus itself on some of its other challenges.
“As the population ages, we have to stay attractive to the baby boomers and intrigue the 20 and 30-somethings,” said Berger. “We are losing potential farming acres to subdivisions when we’d like more grapes; we need to grow but not overplant before demand meets supply.”
What about the relationship with neighboring wineries?
“I’d like to keep the convivial relationships with other wineries, but as the industry grows, so does the competitive pressure,” said Berger. “We have commonalities in labor supply issues and of course the increased cost of health care, energy, and goods. Then throw in this strange Michigan economy - but it’s nothing we can’t handle.”
Berger herself enjoys dry Rieslings and bubblies, but also appreciates variety.
“I like to say I am an equal opportunity consumer. When I am cooking I like dry reds such as Cabernet Franc or Pinot Noir,” said Berger. “But I’m just as likely to drink local beer or whiskey when fraternizing.”

For more information on the wines of Leelanau Cellars, visit
www.leelanaucellars.com. Their tasting room is open daily year round. For
more information on Chateau Fontaine wines, visit www.chateaufontaine.com
or call the winery at 231-256-0000. For more on Chateau Chantal, visit
www.chateauchantal.com or call the tasting room that is open year round at 231-223-4110. View On Our Website