Wine, Women and Water

youngwomanwithwineglassstandingonthebeautifulvineyard
Just as there’s no magic wand to make a two-year (and still counting) pandemic disappear, there are no easy solutions to support locals and tourists, nor any ironclad ways to ensure mothers working in the wine biz are adequately supported.
youngwomanwithwineglassstandingonthebeautifulvineyard

As a monthly columnist, interesting news bits fly by my inbox faster than I can count. Most sail out as quickly as they arrive, not worthy of a mention, others might raise an eyebrow, but it’s the scant few that stop my keys from clacking, that I live for. One of the latest, from Wine Business Monthly, grabbed me with the headline, “The Elephant in the Cellar: The Unspoken Challenges for Mothers in Wine.” The story shines a light on the inherent challenges for women in wine who are called upon to work grueling seasonal hours while juggling pregnancy, sleep deprivation and breastfeeding on the go because as I like to say, the grapes wait for nobody.

As a writer, I am fortunate enough to control my own schedule, which allowed me to work right up until giving birth and later enabled me to balance time between pecks on the keyboard, poopy diapers and breastfeeding my twins. As for winemakers and viticulturists, this type of flexibility is often not an option, even in the most forgiving workplaces. Women interviewed for the article pointed to a myriad of challenges including everything from palate changes during pregnancy to intense production hours, and truncated or nonexistent maternity leave. If I would have been called upon to taste wine while pregnant it would have been an impossibility given the round-the-clock morning sickness I battled for the duration of my pregnancy.

Other women quoted for the story spoke to unsaid stigmas around women’s ability to commit fully to the rigors of the job when pregnancy and childrearing enter the picture. While child care is a global issue, it is further magnified in the wine industry given the hours that winemakers and viticulturists are required to pull during peak times like harvest. Add COVID to the mix and the demands can feel insurmountable to many women. Those are my impressions based on conversations I have had with other working-in-wine mamas. I would love to hear from readers about how you as an individual or business are working to tackle these issues.

High rollers

As a diehard print media fan, it is not without its problems given how quickly the news turns in our technology-obsessed world. It is my job to report on topics that are both timely and topical, but also not subject to dramatic shifts, given lead times can be lengthy. I made what I thought was a safe bet when I chose, on multiple occasions, to write about the Four Seasons resort in Calistoga. After all, the project had been 10 years in the making when the hotel finally opened to the public in November. I assumed the possibility for change would be minimal in the short term, but as is often the case, I would be wrong. Barely a month after the posh resort opened, the Wall Street Journal reported that the property had been sold to the Irvine-based Sunstone Investors for a whopping $177.5 million. The deal marks one of the most expensive hotel transactions in the nation, trumping even a Hyatt deal, for its Big Sur location, which went for a meager $150 million. Sunstone also paid beaucoup bucks last April when it purchased the Montage Healdsburg resort for $265 million. Each of the hotels often commands more than $2,000 a night, with rates that climb as high as $4,000 for those extra “special” rooms with a view.

Something to splash about

In other splash-worthy news this winter, locals called the Calistoga City council to the negotiating table over the town’s community pool when they fought to keep the facility open year-round. Part of the catalyst behind the initiative sparked when word hit that the Calistoga Motor Lodge, a trendy boutique hotel in town, refused to renew pool memberships, which afforded locals a way to enjoy the geothermal mineral waters Calistoga is known for. The discontinuation of the lodge’s membership program is yet another example when townies help support a new business, only to find themselves cut off by said business when the property gains popularity. This reframe repeats up and down the valley during seasonal shifts when locals get top billing during the downturn and later do not rank when the tourist pendulum shifts. There are certainly many businesses that love their locals year-round—it’s the ones that don’t, I take issue with.

Just as there’s no magic wand to make a two-year (and still counting) pandemic disappear, there are no easy solutions to support locals and tourists, nor any ironclad ways to ensure mothers working in the wine biz are adequately supported. My hope is that raised voices and awareness will create a call to action for those businesses and institutions that are in a position to impact change.

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