Women Leaders in Wine & Spirits

PILAR MARTÍNEZ Bujanda Irribarria Viña Bujanda Rioja, Spain

AMY BURCH Burch Family Wines Western Australia, Australia

BEATRICE CONTINI BONACOSSI

LAURA CATENA Catena Zapata Mendoza, Argentina

Capezzana Tuscany, Italy

Amy’s passion for all things Howard Park is immediately evident when you visit the Margaret River winery and cellar door. Her marketing skills, along with her vision, enthusiasm and attention to detail, have been the foundation on which she and Jeff built up the business. Amy’s eye for design is particularly evident in the construction of the winery and cellar door at the Leston vineyard. Built along Feng Shui principles, the Margaret River building achieved recognition for design excellence, standing as a modern Australian winery landmark.

A fourth-generation vintner, physician, and author, Laura Catena is the managing director of Catena Zapata. She graduated from Harvard University with a degree in biology and received her M.D. from Stanford University. In 1995, she founded the Catena Institute of Wine with the mission to elevate Argentine wine through vineyard study and research. Laura continues to further her family’s mission with passion projects, including Domaine Nico, a collection of high-altitude Pinot Noir, and La Marchigiana, a natural wine range.

Viña Bujanda is owned by the brother and- sister team Carlos and Pilar Martínez- Bujanda Irribarria, whose family has been making wine since 1889. The estate was established in 2009 in the small village of Oyon near Logroño. Carlos and Pilar are the fifth generation to be involved in the family wine business. Their commitment to producing estate wines, reflective of their terroir, has ensured Familia Martínez-Bujanda’s continued success.

Beatrice Contini Bonacossi is a family proprietor and global ambassador for Tenuta di Capezzana in Carmignano. A tireless advocate for her family’s renowned wines, Bea’s fluency in French, English, and Italian, along with some Spanish, enhances her international presence. Her linguistic skills and cultural appreciation make her an ideal representative of the Capezzana legacy worldwide.

BELÉN IÁCONO Catena Zapata Mendoza, Argentina

MARIA CARELLA Cantina Nicosia Sicily, Italy

ELEANORA BRANGERO Centorri Lombardy, Italy Enologist Eleonora Brangero and her husband Matteo Soria own a winery in Castiglione Tinella, producing Moscato d’Asti. In 1996, they purchased 10 acres of Moscato vineyards in Pavia, naming it Eleanor Estate. Initially selling grapes to other producers, they launched Centorri in 2009, inspired by Pavia’s hundred towers. Centorri is a women-led venture, managed by Eleonora, her mother Emiliana, and grandmother Camilla—known as the “ladies of Moscato”—dedicated to crafting exceptional Moscato wines.

BRIANNE ENGLES Chamisal (Malene) Vineyards San Luis Obispo, CA Brianne, a Pacific Grove native, discovered her passion for wine at 15 while working in a high-end restaurant. She earned a Wine & Viticulture degree from Cal Poly and a Level 3 WSET certification. With 17 years in the industry, she’s worked at top wineries like Two Hands, Duckhorn, and Quintessa. Now Winemaker at Chamisal Vineyards, she crafts wines reflecting Central Coast terroir. Outside work, she enjoys farmers markets, cooking, hiking, and relaxing at the beach.

Belén began working with the Catena family in 2005. She currently oversees the family’s vineyards located in Tupungato, including Adrianna Vineyard, the most studied and awarded vineyard in South America. A fierce advocate of the expression of terroir in wines, Belén meticulously studies each parcel to make wines of place that are able to age. She is also part of the winery’s sustainability team, and is responsible for their certifications.

Family owned and operated, Cantina Nicosia was founded in 1898, and is currently under the leadership of the fifth generation. It was one of the original wineries to settle on Mount Etna and they currently own 85 hectares there, farming all of their own grapes. Their state-of-the-art winery in the town of Trecastagni covers more than 20,000 square feet, including an ultra-modern bottling line. Maria Carella, one of the few female enologists in Sicily, has been with the winery since 2008 and produces all of the wines.

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FINE WINE + SPIRITS