BY ALISON BAILIN BATZ
In 1804 France, Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin was left a veuve, which translates to widow. Upon her husband’s death, Madame Clicquot inherited holdings in banking, wool trading, and a vineyard, the latter of which many said was a waste of time. She, however, saw opportunity. Within six years, she created the first-ever recorded vintage of champagne in the region and pioneered riddling, a technique that effectively removes the cloudiness present in champagne. As a result, champagne became a mainstream beverage of choice worldwide.
More than 200 years later, women continue to innovate the wine industry, including these local visionaries of all things vino:
KRISTEN SHROYER, ONEHOPE WINE
Kristen Shroyer is equal parts wine entrepreneur and philanthropic success story. The third generation Arizonan is among the founders of ONEHOPE Wine. The vision: give hope, quite literally, by donating a portion of proceeds from every bottle to local and global causes. After connecting with a custom crush facility and developing an initial concept, the team began selling ONEHOPE from their cars and to their friends, quickly learning the former was technically illegal. Thankfully, they found a distributor who believed in them. ONEHOPE Wine is not only available in all 50 states today, but in 2020, despite the pandemic, Shroyer and her team opened a full- scale winery operation in the heart of Napa. Upon opening the 10-acre property, ONEHOPE became the first-ever impact-driven winemaker in the region. Shroyer also co-launched the ONEHOPE Foundation, funding causes all over the world using proceeds from their wine sales versus just one varietal for one cause at a time. To date, their wine has helped raise more than $10 million for over 40,000 nonprofits.
Additionally, the company has funded large sustainable projects including building three schools in developing countries, funding thousands of hours of innovative cancer research, planting an entire forest in Indonesia, and more. www.onehopewine.com
JODI BRONCHTEIN, THE WRIGLEY MANSION
The Wrigley Mansion is about 10 concepts in one; just ask its wine director, Jodi Bronchtein. Thankfully, the advanced sommelier, who also holds the WSET 3 certification and is pursuing her Master’s Theory exam and WSET Diploma, is more than up for it.
Bronchtein not only leads the wine program at The Wrigley Mansion’s Geordie’s Restaurant but also Christipher’s at Wrigley Mansion, Jamie’s Wine Bar, and all special events of various scope and size on property. A yin to the culinary team’s yang, which includes James Beard Award-winner Christopher Gross, Bronchtein has curated a mind-blowing list of 2,600 wines from around the world and is working with Gross on plans for a January 2025 wine festival on property, among other special events. www.wrigleymansion.com
MAKI POTTENGER, FAIRMONT SCOTTSDALE PRINCESS
Maki Pottenger lives her life by the motto “Wherever you are, be all there.” While many sommeliers get their starts at small spots before having an aha moment and earning a big break, Pottenger began her career first at CORE Kitchen & Wine Bar at the Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain Resort in Tucson in 2011 before moving to the JW Marriott Camelback Inn Resort & Spa when she relocated to Scottsdale. Those venues are significant, in that CORE is among the only restaurants in Arizona to be named to the Forbes Five Star Travel Awards list of winners several years in a row, and the Camelback Inn is so luxe that it is the locale of choice when Mr. Marriott makes a personal visit to Arizona.
The experience led Pottenger to the Mina Group under James Beard Award winner Michael Mina in 2015, first at Bourbon Steak at the Scottsdale Princess, then to San Francisco. Pottenger would return to Bourbon Steak in 2018 as the floor sommelier before taking on the role of lead sommelier in 2019. In 2021, the Court of Master Sommeliers-certified Pottenger was promoted to Wine Director of the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess and still works closely with Mina Group wine director and master sommelier, Jeremy Shanker, to oversee Bourbon Steak’s 3,500-bottle wine program. www.scottsdaleprincess.com
LAUREN MALDONADO, BREE NATION, AND GAYLE GLOMSKI
On their own, Lauren Maldonado, Bree Nation, and Gayle Glomski are forces of nature in Arizona wine. Maldonado is the co-owner of The Art of Wine in Sedona, while Nation is currently the cellar master at Page Springs Cellars and co-owner of Oddity Wine Collective. Glomski, a yoga and hoop dancing teacher as well as a massage therapist, has worked hand in hand with husband, Eric, since he founded Page Springs Cellars in 2003. In fact, she leads the Second Harvest brand in partnership with Page Springs, an eco-friendly line of products made from pressed grapes.
But beyond all of this, the trio are the founders of Vin de Filles. French for “girls’ wine,” Vin de Filles is wine produced by women to highlight the vitality and feminine strength within the world of wine. The 2021 House Mountain Vin de Filles, which is primarily Syrah with a kiss of Malvasia Bianca blended in, is available now, with a portion of proceeds from the wine benefitting Verde Valley Sanctuary, a local non-profit organization that provides support for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. www.pagespringscellars.com
PEGGY FIANDACA, LDV WINERY
Fun fact: before founding the acclaimed LDV Winery in 2008, Peggy Fiandaca was an urban planner in Arizona for more than 30 years and the first-ever woman recognized as an Arizona Planning Pion by the Arizona Planning Association. Today, Fiandaca grows 13 acres of grapes in Southern Arizona and works as the brand’s chief winemaker with her husband, Curt Dunham. LDV has made its name by offering hand- crafted, estate-grown, and produced Rhone-varieties that reflect the unique vineyard characteristics. Currently, Fiandaca produces 3,000- 4,000 cases of wine per year and leads the LDV Winery Tasting Room in Old Town Scottsdale, which offers both tastings and current varietals by the bottle, glass, or to go.
She is also the host of “Wine Time with Peggy,” a monthly podcast on wine pairings, wine tasting, different varietals, harvest season and vineyard happenings, wine terminology, and more, available on YouTube and online wherever one gets their podcasts. www.ldvwinery.com
