It’s raining cats and dogs on Woman’s Day down here in the Mother City, so I thought I’d post my Woman Winemaker of the Year interview with Cathy Marshall which appeared in the Sunday Times.

That’s Cathy below, along with Eben Sadie and Alan Pick.

Q: Why did you not enter the Woman Winemaker of the Year Competition this year?

A: Since I became a winemaker in the early 90’s, I took the stand that I would never partake in competitions that polarised an already polarised industry. This most certainly includes woman winemaker competitions. I would like my work to be judged fairly and equally and not in spite of or because of my gender. Through my journey as a winemaker, I have had the great fortune of being mentored by some of South Africa’s and other top International male winemakers – placing myself solely on the women -only bench would, to my mind, not be mindful of their contribution to my position today.

The fight through the centuries and even today for equality in male dominated arenas like winemaking certainly does not bring about respect and inclusiveness with our male peers, rather I see it as alienating and polarising ourselves by joining these women- only jollies. I feel that they should be scrapped forthwith as I see no value to them in an industry that desperately needs cohesiveness on a very competitive world stage.

Q: Can you taste the difference between wine made from a man and a woman?

A: I have tasted very feminine wines made from males and very masculine wines made by women- if we strive to use both elements then our wines should be harmonised and balanced right?

Q: There are few competitions to reward viticulture, farm workers and label designs. Should these areas be addressed by competition entrepreneurs?

A: I would like to see more community efforts rewarded as part of wine scoring together with more emphasis on respectful and natural viticultural vine and wine husbandry highlighted as part of a sustainable competition system. My feeling is that we need to move away from the existing spit and score system to a more holistic approach where the farming criteria are included for sure.

Q: Do competitions improve the quality of SA wine?

A: Competitions are healthy for any industry. We need to get more creative and move away from what currently exists though.