This week we are celebrating the amazing women that make Hallgarten what it is today. We are proud to represent some of the best female winemakers in the world, and we truly believe that the wines crafted by these talented women – from Japan and South Africa to Italy and France – are some of the very best in the Hallgarten portfolio.
Sonia Spadaro, owner and winemaker at Santa Maria La Nave, Sicily.
Born in Augusta, on the Ionian coast of Sicily, Sonia grew up in the orange groves of Lentini, watching Mount Etna erupt. Sonia discovered the world of wine by chance and decided to start tending to the family vines and work in the cellar on the vinification processes. After graduating in economics, with plans to become an archaeologist, she trained as a sommelier and then completely devoted her life to wine and after a few years working in vineyards on Sicily, became the owner at Santa Maria La Nave.
Santa Maria la Nave is a small boutique winey on Mount Etna, specialising in wines from ancient, rare indigenous varieties. Their two vineyards were the first is on the northwest side of Mount Etna – the highest active volcano in Europe and a Unesco World Heritage site – located at 1,100 metres above sea level, and are among the highest and most extreme vineyards on the continent.
Valeria Antolin, winemaker at Piattelli Vineyards, Argentina.
It is hardly a surprise that Valeria Antolin became a winemaker. Her father was a famous sparkling winemaker in Mendoza and she followed in his footsteps, taking a degree in Agronomy from Universidad Nacional de Cuyo before working her way up at Piattelli. She has been with the estate since it was founded in 2002 and is now the principle winemaker at its Mendoza and Cafayate (in the Salta Province) wineries.
In the words of Valeria:
“Winemaking is our expert craft and rooted deeply within my heritage. My father was a well known Winemaker, as was my Uncle & Grandfather. There has always been a bottle of wine on the family table. Today that bottle is Piattelli. ”
Chloe Gabrielsen, winemaker at Lake Chalice Wines, New Zealand.
Raised in Turangi on the shores of the mighty Lake Taupo, Chloe’s early exposure to viticulture began with helping her parents pick out wine from the local store (they were fiends for a big Aussie red). After finishing College in 2001, Chloe moved to Marlborough to pursue a Bachelor of Viticulture and Oenology degree through Lincoln University, completing her first harvest at the Saint Clair Family Estate in 2006.
Now more than ten vintages later, Chloe is the winemaker at Lake Chalice, producing the very best results for this superb winery… that is, when she’s not being a Mum to Asher, member of multiple sports teams, performing in Kapa Haka (Māori performing arts), being a cross-fit addict or cooking a mean kai (kiwi food)!
Estelle Roumage, owner and winemaker at Chateau Lestrille, France.
Estelle Roumage embodies this outstanding family domaine in Entre-deux-Mers, close to Saint-Émilion, a region Estelle describes as the Tuscany of Bordeaux; hilly, with beautiful biodiversity, groves, rivers and different cultures.
After graduating from Hull University in the 1990s and spending time in London, Estelle spent four years in Madrid, then to Marlborough, New Zealand to learn more about winemaking. She then returned to Entre-Deux-Mers to the family farm, and has been making wine and running the estate ever since!
Her wines are delicate and precise and consistently punch above their appellation. She manages to blend respect for tradition with a modern outlook to vine management and winemaking techniques. On top of this Estelle has a real passion and talent for bringing her wines to our customers to share, to taste, to learn, to engage, in a way that really ignites their taste buds.
Samantha O’Keefe, owner and winemaker at Lismore, South Africa.
Californian Samantha O’Keefe has found paradise and the perfect terroir. Tucked into the foothills of the Riviersonderend, a dramatic mountain range at the bottom of Africa, Lismore Estate Vineyards was born alongside Sam’s nascent family. A passionate vision, combined with vines planted at 300 metres, which are chilled by winter snow and nourished by the African summer sun, produces classic, cool climate wines which are rich, complex and lovingly hand-crafted.
In December 2019, Sam suffered an awful bushfire at her winery. Thankfully, she was safe, and thanks partly to donations from around the world, fund-raising events in major wine centres, the generosity of her fellow growers who supplied her with grapes (including some from the unbelievably-named Corona Vineyard), but mostly due to her own indomitable spirit, she immediately set about rebuilding her business and we are very excited to taste her latest wines.
Elizma Visser, winemaker at Olifantsberg, South Africa.
Elizma joined the Olifantsberg team in 2015 following extensive winemaking experience; studying Oenology and Viticulture in Stellenbosch and working in France and Italy, before returning home to South Africa.
Her time making wine in Europe proved to be an excellent springboard to go on and start creating elegant Rhône style wines of her own.
Elizma certainly has her work cut out, looking after all areas of the management of the vineyards and winery at Olifantsberg. In the vineyards, Elizma’s focus is on taking care of the soils and maintaining the quality and sustainability of the vines. Whereas her focus in the winery, is to get the best expression of the fruit using a variety of techniques.
Özge Kaymaz Özkan, winemaker at Kayra, Turkey.
One of the winemakers of Kayra is Özge Kaymaz Özkan, a talented woman who has been with the company for over 15 years. Being from a family who used to work for Tekel, Turkey’s state monopoly in spirits, she was practically born and raised in the industry.
Kayra produces premium wines from the Anatolia region -considered to be the birthplace of wine- and is at the cutting edge of winemaking. The wines are made from unique local varieties as well as international ones. These ancient indigenous varieties are being vinified using modern techniques and are producing award-winning results.