When global wine chicks unite! Jane Thomson & Corrina Wright to represent Australia at the first ever Forum of the Women in Wine Worldwide in Milan this month

When global wine chicks unite!
Jane Thomson & Corrina Wright to represent Australia at the first ever Forum of the Women in Wine Worldwide in Milan this month.

For the first time in the world, women who are leaders in their nation in advocating for action on gender equality in the wine industry, are being brought together to exchange ideas and form a partnership agreement for international collaboration.

The Forum of the Women in Wine Worldwide will be held in Milan on November 20th, 2019, as part of the SIMEI Fair (the International Enological and Bottling Equipment Exhibition – November 19th-22nd).

An all-Italian idea, this groundbreaking meeting is taking place thanks to a collaboration between the Italian women in wine group Le Donne del Vino and the Unione Italiana Vini (UIV) who are organizing the Fair. The attendance of invitees is being fully funded by the UIV.

The goal is for women who have been working in this space to meet and exchange ideas and experiences, with the most important element being the signing of a partnership agreement. The aim of the agreement is to create a global alliance between these (until now) independent players, creating the foundations for a constructive collaboration through meetings, exchange of experiences, communication and professional training opportunities.

Jane Thomson, founder of The Fabulous Ladies’ Wine Society and the Australian Women in Wine Awards (AWIWA), and Corrina Wright, CEO and winemaker of Oliver’s Taranga and founding Board Member of the AWIWA, received an official invitation to attend as representatives of Australia back in August and have been asked to share their knowledge and experiences – particularly their work with the Australian Women in Wine Awards.

“As organisers of the only awards program for women in wine in the world, I think we’ll have a lot to contribute to this gathering. I’m absolutely thrilled to be linking in and learning from women all over the world who have been working hard to bring about powerful change in this area,” said Jane.

For Corrina, the chance to represent Australia at this event is “…incredibly exciting! After all, we will be so much stronger together in creating real advocacy for women in the wine sector all over the world.”

ABOUT SIMEI: The SIMEI Fair is the leading international fair in technology for the winemaking and bottling sectors.

ABOUT LE DONNE DEL VINO: The national association Le Donne del Vino (Women in Wine) was set up in Florence in 1988 by Elisabetta Tognana, a Venetian entrepreneur who resettled in Tuscany and sensed an opportunity to unite women producers, restaurant owners, wine bar owners, sommeliers, journalists and wine experts to give voice to women in wine. The first group of 70 pioneer Women in Wine has grown to the current 800 members chaired by Donatella Cinelli Colombini, divided into regional delegations with one representative who coordinates the local initiatives.