About Us

Australian Women In Wine aims to advance and celebrate gender equity, and develop representation and leadership opportunities for women across the Australian grape and wine sectors for lasting change. ​

We advocate for women in our community and with leaders who champion equality and fairness for all sexes in the workplace. Through shared experiences and collaborative activations, we provide opportunities for leadership development, recognition, and industry engagement to inspire the need for change. ​

Winner of the 2022 Excellence in Action Award – Australian Wine Industry Awards, AWIW was founded as an initiative of The Fabulous Ladies’ Wine Society in 2015.​

Empowerment | Equity | Community | Respect | Inclusion ​

Jill Bauer

Jill Bauer is Senior Lecturer and Winemaker at the Adelaide University Waite Winery and Program Director for the Bachelor of Viticulture and Oenology.

With over 25 years of experience across all facets of the wine industry, she is nationally recognised for transforming winemaking education through innovation, reflective practice and work-integrated learning.

Jill founded Vintage Conversations, leads global alumni networks, and was awarded the 2025 Stephen Cole the Elder Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2024 Wine Communicators Educator of the Year, and 2023 STEMM Educator of the Year (SA Science Excellence + Innovation Awards).

She is committed to connected, inclusive and future-focused education that empowers the next generation of winemakers across Australia.

Natalie Benson (Treasurer)

Natalie Benson is the new director and treasurer of Australian Women in Wine Ltd. She has significant strategic commercial, corporate governance, business development, and operational expertise at a senior executive level (COO / CFO / EVP), with a career of more than 35 years across multiple countries, 25 of which have been dedicated to the travel and events industries.

Natalie holds a Bachelor of Commerce, is a long-standing member of the professional body, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, and is a DipWSET graduate.

A collaborative problem solver with a goal-oriented approach to driving performance and integrity across all areas of operation to achieve organisational purpose, growth, and financial sustainability. Natalie has a strong track record of building teams, mentoring peers and colleagues, and developing productive relationships with key stakeholders, partners, and suppliers.

Shirley Fraser

Shirley Fraser is a wine strategy professional based in South Australia. Drawing on over 25 years of wine industry experience to facilitate change that is innovative, relevant and effective.

A Roseworthy Wine Marketing graduate and Future Leaders alumni, regular mentor and judge of various awards, Shirley is the GM Customer Engagement at Wine Australia.

A board member of Australian Women in Wine and also of Wine Communicators of Australia, Shirley has also previously been a Board member of Riverland Wine Management Committee; was Executive Officer at WISA and has worked with numerous wine brands and suppliers.

Dedicated to sector collaboration and problem solving, building connections for lifting the success of the collective, Shirley is energised for how she can lean in for anyone in the industry wanting to thrive.

Ali Lockwood

Ali Lockwood is a strategic and influential industry leader with more than 25 years’ experience across the wine sector, agribusiness, sustainability, and government. She is currently the Assistant General Manager of Strategy and Policy at Primary Industries and Regions SA (PIRSA) and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Ali has held senior leadership roles including as CEO of How Sustainability, Executive Officer of Distillers South Australia, and Manager of Market Development for Food, Wine, and Agribusiness within the South Australian Government. She has strong expertise in wine industry development, having spent over a decade with Wine Australia where she led global market access programs across Emerging Markets, including the opening of the first Wine Australia office in China, and was responsible for stakeholder engagement with regional, State and Federal agencies.

Known for her governance capability, policy acumen, and ability to build high-value partnerships, Ali is widely respected for driving strategic industry outcomes, and fostering long-term, sustainable growth across the food and wine sectors.

Di Thomson (Secretary)

Di Thompson is a strategic manager and business consultant with a growing passion for the wine industry. With a strong background in project management, governance, and change management across both public and private sectors in Australia and the UK, Di brings a wealth of leadership and business improvement expertise. Di is currently pursuing advanced wine qualifications (WSET) and gaining hands-on experience at a local winery, demonstrating a commitment to learning and professional growth within the industry.

Di’s board and committee experience includes roles within professional project management organisations and government agencies, where Di has delivered board and event strategies and led risk and performance initiatives.

Driven by a passion for inclusive leadership, Di is dedicated to advancing women in the wine industry. Di envisions a future in which women have equal opportunities to thrive and lead across all aspects of the sector. By working alongside fellow board members and stakeholders, Di is committed to creating a more supportive and equitable environment for all.

Rachel Triggs (Chair)

Rachel is an experienced senior executive with over 20 years’ experience in the Australian grape and wine sector. She is a qualified winemaker and lawyer having previously held senior roles within Wine Australia, including as General Counsel and Head of Market Access. Prior to joining Wine Australia, Rachel worked as a corporate lawyer specialising in wine law.

Rachel has a Bachelor of Science (Jurisprudence) majoring in genetics and biochemistry, a Masters in Oenology and a Bachelor of Law (University of Adelaide), a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice, and a Diploma of European Wine Law (University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne). In 2014, she co-authored a wine law text book, Global Wine Regulation. She is a contributing author of the most recent edition of the Oxford Wine Companion.

Before completing her Law degree, Rachel worked as a winemaker – predominantly in the Adelaide Hills, but also in the Clare Valley, Hunter Valley, Oregon and Tuscany. She continues to make a small amount of wine each year in her suburban backyard.

Unsurprisingly, Rachel is actively involved in the international wine law community, serving as President of the Australasian Wine Law Association, and as a board member of each the International Federation of Wine and Spirits (FIVS) and the International Wine Law Association.

Rachel agrees with the sentiment that there is a special place in hell for women who don’t support women and she says it’s right next to those who don’t fill up the ice tray.

Corrina Wright

Described by WBM Magazine as a “legend in the making” and by James Halliday as being part of a “remarkable dynasty” Corrina is the Director and Winemaker (and sixth generation member) of her family’s label, Oliver’s Taranga.

2019 ASVO Winemaker of the Year and 2021 Family Business Australia Leading Women in Family Business Award winner, Corrina is a vocal supporter of women in wine. She graduated from the prestigious Len Evans Tutorial in 2005 and continues to judge at numerous wine shows around Australia. Passionate about her McLaren Vale home, her vocation and local community she has also served on the boards of the Winemakers Federation of Australia, McLaren Vale Grape, Wine & Tourism Association, and the Australian Society of Viticulture & Oenology. A Future Leaders alumni, she is a current board member of the Australian Wine Research Institute and President of the Australian Alternative Varietals Wine Show. Corrina is furious that we are losing women from our wonderful wine community and is determined not to sit back and let it happen.

PAST BOARD MEMBERS

Jane Thomson OAM (Founder & past Chair)

Jane is the founder and Managing Director of The Fabulous Ladies’ Wine Society, Australia’s first and wildly successful wine community for women. Awarded ‘Digital Wine Communicator of the Year’ by Wine Communicators of Australia in 2019, 2016 and 2013, Jane is the only person to have won this award more than once.

Not only is Jane passionate about communicating the joys of wine to an increasingly savvy female audience of wine lovers, but she’s equally determined to do everything within her power to showcase the fabulous female talent within the Australian wine industry.

In March 2015 Jane represented Australia at the first ever Women in Wine Global Symposium in Napa, CA. It was from that experience that she returned with the vision to found the Australian Women in Wine Awards. The awards ran from 2015 to 2020, and included ceremonies in London in 2017 and New York in 2019. In 2023, after a short COVID induced hiatus, it became simply Australian Women in Wine – to reflect the many activities it now undertakes.

All of this only became possible thanks to the support and exceptional talent of the members of this advisory board, both past and present.

From 2013 – 2023 Jane was also the Drinks Editor for Taste.com.au Magazine, and was voted as one of Wine Business Magazine’s ‘Top Stars’ of 2012 & 2016. In both 2019 and 2021 she was chosen as the Australian representative to sign an International Accord agreement for women in wine groups around the world to work together, at the Global Forum of Women in Wine in Milan (Italy). She was ably accompanied in this by the ASVO 2019 Winemaker of the Year, Corrina Wright.

In June 2023 Jane was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for her services to women in the oenology sector.

Jeni Port (past board member)

Jeni Port is a freelance wine writer based in Melbourne. A trained journalist, she created the first wine column in The Sun News-Pictorial newspaper (now Herald-Sun) before moving to The Age where she went on to become the paper’s longest-serving wine writer.
Over the years she has contributed at any one time to virtually every wine magazine published in Australia.

Today, she is a member of the Tasting Team of the Halliday Wine Companion, writes for the on-line wine website, WinePilot, and contributes to magazines such as Winning and Maserati Magazine. She is a committee member of the Melbourne Royal Wine Awards, and is the co-deputy chair of Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards and China’s Wine List of the Year Awards.

Jeni is also the author of Choosing Australian Wine, Crushed By Women: Women and Wine and the Australasian contributor to Dorling Kinderlsey’s Wines of the World.

In 2014, Jeni was named a Legend of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival and was awarded Wine Communicator of the Year by Wine Communicators of Australia.

Dr. Catherine Kidman (past board member)

Dr Catherine Kidman has been a part of the Viticultural team at Wynns since 2011.

Her primary role is overseeing the technical program as well as implementing the research and development directions for the vineyards.

Cath completed her PhD with Adelaide University examining grapevine rootstocks, water stress, flowering and fruitset. This has given her good grounding for her more recent work at Wynns exploring vine water status, and the role of climate for early, accurate yield predictions, as well as other research in an attempt to understand the complexities of the vineyard environment. Along with her work at Wynns, she also enjoys her supervisory roles with both Masters and PhD students through the University of Adelaide.

In 2020, Cath was awarded Gourmet Traveler Viticulturist of the year and 2020 Australian Women in Wine Viticulturist of the year. In 2021, she was awarded the International Viticulturist of the Year for Women in Wine and Spirits, she is a past recipient of Wine Australia Future Leaders program (FL19) and a mentor in Wine Industry Mentor program 2021 and in 2022.

Cath actively represents Coonawarra as a committee member of the Coonawarra Vignerons as well as a technical representative for the Limestone Coast Grape and Wine Council and is a member of ASVO.

Alexia Roberts (past board member)

The Australian Women in Wine branding was developed by Denomination – a global drinks branding specialist, with offices in Sydney, London, San Francisco and New York. Driving growth through creativity, Denomination works for clients large and small in all alcohol sectors www.denomination.com