My vision from the moment I decided to take this blog to the next level was to focus on women in wine. I want to make wine knowledge accessible to women who are curious, who want to understand wine, make educated decisions about what type of wine to buy and why, and how to pair it with food.
Also, and I know I speak for many women here, it is my desire to shine a light on women in the wine industry, be they big and successful already or just starting out. I would love for you to share my post or drop a name in the comments about a woman in wine who needs to be seen for the hard work she puts in every day!
With that said, I found it to be only fitting that my first spotlight should be on a queer woman in honor of Pride Month. I didn’t have to look long before deciding on Remy Drabkin of Remy Wines, because she is located right here in Oregon. This is what it says on the Remy Wines website, “Born and raised in McMinnville, Remy came up in the cellars of Willamette Valley greats and by the age of eight, she knew she wanted to become a winemaker herself. Remy Wines produces northern Italian varieties grown in the Pacific Northwest, Willamette Valley legacy grapes and emerging varieties in her hometown of McMinnville, Oregon. Consistent throughout is Drabkin’s unmistakable flair for innovation and her healthy disregard for convention.”
Remy has three wine labels, including Remy Wines focusing on Northern Italy inspired wines like Nebbiolo, Dolcetto, and Sangiovese; Three Wives featuring whites, reds, and rose wines; Black Heart Series with Super Tuscans, Bordeaux-style Malbec-Carménère blends, Willamette Valley Chardonnays and a Méthode Champenoise sparkling wine.
If you happen to reside in Oregon, please go make an appointment for a tasting. Looking through the list of wines, I guarantee there will be something that appeals to you. And if all else fails, just go for the bubbles. Those always work. I read somewhere that Remy said sparkling wine goes with everything and every event. She is not wrong! Mimosas for breakfast, bubbles for lunch, bubbles for a chill afternoon, bubbles during or after dinner. Bubbles for birthdays, weddings, graduations, or just because you made it through a rough day. Bubbles are a universal beverage!
Enough of the bubbles though, and back to Remy. For now 16 years she has been active in public service.
She is an elected McMinnville City Council member and City Council President.
She is the Chair of the Affordable Housing Commission and Liaison to the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) Taskforce.
She is the co-founder of Wine Country Pride, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, bringing LGBTQ+ Pride celebrations to rural Oregon.
On June 24th, 2022 Remy wine is going to host the World’s First Queer Wine Fest and it looks like tickets are still available, and the proceeds will go to her non-profit Wine Country Pride.
Ladies, if I’ve ever seen a gorgeous, talented, spunky, walking, talking success story, then Remy is it! I admire women who channel this boundless energy into good things and who inspire others to do well, too. I certainly feel called to continue what I set out to do with this blog and business!
As I’ve mentioned above, I want to shout out at least one woman in wine per month, ideally more. If you know a:
-winemaker
-winery worker
-wine enthusiast
-tasting room server
-tasting room manager
-winery owner
or any other woman in the wine industry who inspires you, who should be seen, who needs some love from other women, or who might even be willing to be interviewed by yours truly (interviews would be great but are not required), please send them my way or drop their name in the comments so I can reach out to them. I would love to feature them, maybe collaborate, and just celebrate them for being a hard working woman in wine!
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