The SOMM Journal

February / March 2018

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12 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018 { editor's notebook } AFTER PUBLISHING Karen MacNeil's "Beyond the Wine Glass, A New Glass Ceiling" feature on women in the wine industry in The SOMM Journal's December 2017/Janu - ary 2018 issue, lifestyle writer Julia Coney wrote an open letter to our magazine pointing out the lack of African- American women represented in the many portraits that accompanied the story. (You can read Coney's full letter, and MacNeil's thoughtful response, on Coney's website at juliaconey.com.) As proud as I am to have been a small part of MacNeil's feature, which was adapted from a keynote speech she made at the National Women for Winesense Conference, Coney's letter prompted a long and self-reflective pause: I hadn't noticed the lack of African-American women at this event, which in turn made me realize I do not know one black female winemaker. Not one. This is why I'm thanking Coney here for bringing this lack of diversity to our attention. Her appeal for intersectional feminism not only in our magazine, but in the wine industry as a whole, added an illuminating layer to MacNeil's narra - tive of her own experiences of exclusion—and the need to break that cycle. We want to use this dialogue as a platform for asking our readers what you believe we can all be doing to welcome more women of color into the world of wine and, in partic - ular, onto the pages of The SOMM Journal. As Managing Edi- tor, I can suggest we start a column or initiate some form of online outreach centered around the topic of diversity, but the fact remains that, as a white woman, I shouldn't be the person to spearhead this effort. Instead, we want to hear from you—and the first and most important thing I can do right now is to listen. If you have any thoughts or suggestions on how we can continue this conversation, please email me at jabs@sommjournal.com. —Jessie Birschbach Zero Tolerance INCIDENTS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT within the hospitality industry have made frequent appearances in the headlines lately. The "boys club" atmosphere at many establishments has come to light, and several high-profile members of our community have been outed and banished from their restaurants. This movement is long overdue. No one should be subjected to unwanted and repeated provocations while pursuing their livelihood. People in our business work hard, performing difficult and some - times grueling tasks for long hours. Being hassled and humiliated in addition to these professional demands just doesn't cut it, and whether these incidents comprise verbal taunting or nonconsensual physical contact, they are not acceptable in any circumstance. "No" means "no." Too much of this bad behavior has gone unreported, because the victims have often been afraid—justifiably so—to stand up and say, "Stop!" Hopefully the increasingly open dialogue surrounding these issues will help alleviate those fears. It is also the responsibility of restaurant management to listen to the complaint, take it seriously, fully investigate it, and act appropriately and decisively. The management staff of every restaurant should post a code of conduct in a prominent place. It's sad that this is even necessary, but it is. There should also be a "chain of command" that paves a clear and accessible route for placing complaints. Sexual harassment in any form is repugnant. In order to make our workplaces safe for all, we should maintain a position of zero toler - ance. —Anthony Dias Blue At the Intersection of Intersectional Feminism and Wine { SOMMjournal.com } 91 BEYOND THE WINE GLASS— A NEW GLASS CEILING? Given our current environment, which is so charged with sexual politics, it seems like a good time to take stock of the status of women in the wine industry today. And in honor of Madeleine Albright, the former United States Secretary of State who once said, "There's a special place in hell for women who don't help other women," I'd also like to talk a bit about how women interact with each other to help THE INSPIRING KEYNOTE SPEECH GIVEN AT THIS YEAR'S NATIONAL WOMEN FOR WINESENSE CONFERENCE, ADAPTED FOR THE SOMM JOURNAL BY KAREN MACNEIL Rebecca Hopkins Meridith May Pam Starr Carole Meredith Naoko DalleValle Betty O'Shaughnessy Vanessa Wong Mary Gorman-McAdams Kimberly Noelle Charles Robin Lail Liz Thach Jennifer Simonetti-Bryan Remi Cohen Lisa Granik Jasmine Hirsch Rebekah Wineburg Leslie Sullivan Heidi Barrett Rosemary Cakebread Lynn Penner-Ash Kellie Duckhorn (or not help) move our careers forward. When I started in wine in New York City in the late 1970s, there were fewer than ten women who held significant roles in the wine industry—that, in a city of 7 million people. There was just one wine class for consumers and virtually no consumer wine tastings. There was, in effect, no way into the wine industry. In terms of wine writing, New York was controlled by five men, and because they wrote for most of the top magazines and newspapers, they effectively controlled wine journalism in the entire United States. One of those men was a friend of mine, and he convinced the others to let me taste wine with them each week. (As an aside, these men were invited to hundreds of tastings a year conducted by producers and trade groups from around the world.) The deal was, I could come to the tastings . . . as long as I didn't talk. I accepted, and I didn't talk for the next eight years I spent tasting with them. But I learned a lot from those men. I learned: —Respect for wine —How to be a disciplined taster —How to be serious and professional in my approach I was of course desperate to ask these

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