Women Leaders in Wine & Spirits

ELENA PENNA CURRADO VIETTI

VERONIQUE TORCOLACCI Fat Bastard Languedoc-Roussillon France In 1991, Véronique Torcolacci obtained her degree in oenology from the University of Toulouse. She joined Gabriel Meffre as oenologist in charge of quality before becoming head winemaker. When crafting FAT bastard, the objective of Véronique and her team remains the same: never make the slightest compromise on quality. Thanks to her unique knowledge, she has obtained more than 100 medals, several 4- and 5-star ratings, and special mentions for her wines in all the major wine competitions and top wine magazines.

MAGALI COMBARD Figuière Provence, France

CARMEN MARTÍNEZ ZABALA & LOURDES MARTÍNEZ ZABALA

Elena Spirits Piedmont, Italy

Faustino Rioja, Spain

Magali’s father, Alain Combard, founded the winery in 1992 after discovering its unique terroir in La Londe, a subappellation of the Côtes de-Provence. Today, Magali runs the commercial side of the business while her brother, Francois, is the head winemaker. She is a tireless globetrotter who loves learning about the world and people, and is always on the look-out for trends and new marketing ideas.

From 1990 to 1994, Elena worked in her family’s hospitality business. She then joined the Miroglio Group, a top Italian fashion company, where she spent 11 years with the GM and CFO. In 1994, she married Luca Currado Vietti, a third-generation Vietti Winery winemaker. Balancing both careers until 2005, she then joined the winery full-time as brand and export manager. Now, she revitalizes family traditions with a new line of premium spirits, liqueurs, and vermouths.

Carmen and Lourdes Martínez Zabala represent the fourth generation of Familia Martínez Zabala, which owns six wineries in Spain, including Faustino and Portia. The sisters have more than 20 years’ experience in operating the Faustino winery and preserving its legacy of four essential pillars: vineyards, family, sustainability and innovation.

LÉANA GODARD Forge Cellars Finger Lakes, New York

URSULA MÜLLER Georg Albrecht Schneider Winery Rheinhessen, Germany Ursula runs her family winery together with husband Steffen Müller, winemaker. Her belief is to focus and work in the vineyards, grapes and soil - on the future of the land, as you can’t be ninth generation winemaking without taking very good care of your land and environment.

LETO PARASKEVOPOULOS Gai’a Santorini, Greece

DARIA GAROFOLI Garfoli Marche, Italy

The Garofoli family has been synonymous with winemaking for five generations, making them the oldest producer in Marche with over 150 years of history. Antonio Garofoli began producing wine in 1871, but it was his son Gioacchino who expanded sales across Europe in the 1950s. His grandsons, Carlo and Gianfranco, further advanced the winery. Gianfranco’s wife, Daria, became a top Italian wine ambassador. Today, the fifth generation—Gianluca, Caterina, and Beatrice—manages the winery.

Léana was born and raised in Voiron, France, where Chartreuse is made. In 2018, she graduated from the University of Bordeaux with a diploma in Oenology. While at university, she served as Louis Barruol’s intern and mentee at Château de St. Cosme. In 2018, Léana worked harvest in Burgundy with winemaker Nadine Gublin at Jacques Prieur in Meursault. She split her time between the Finger Lakes and France until 2022, when she became the full-time winemaker at Forge Cellars.

In 2022, Leto Paraskevopoulos took over winemaking duties for Gai’a’s Santorini wines. She was born in Athens and studied at the University of Leeds where she received her Bachelor’s in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, then went on to do a Master’s in Synthetic Biology and Biotechnology at the University of Edinburgh. She got a job as a cellar hand at a winery in New Zealand and then worked a harvest at Domaine Sigalas in Santorini, which led to a full-time position in winemaking. She joined the family business in 2019.

8

WOMEN LEADERS IN WINE & SPIRITS