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Celebrating International Women’s Day with Winemaker, Liz Ladhams
When hired at Mount Langi Ghiran with no winemaking experience, no doubt an eyebrow or two was raised – but it was the diversity of my background that was identified by Chief Winemaker, Adam Louder, as the missing piece of the art that is our winemaking team. I can hand on heart attest to the fact that here, difference is very much valued and celebrated.
Liz’s experience
While my time in wine started semi-recently in 2019, I’ve come from industries where males tended to be in the majority. However, for me I’ve never seen that as a barrier to entry – rather, I’ve always adopted the attitude that if you can’t see it, why not be it!
While there is plenty to romanticise about winemaking, pacing rows of vines, tasting wines and moments of deep contemplation in the barrel hall – the day-to-day reality looks quite different. There’s no doubt that working in a winery comes with a certain level of physicality, but there’s absolutely no reason women can’t work shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts.
The only barrier to being successful in a winery as a workplace is thinking that I need to do the work in the same way as the men. When compared to my male colleagues, do I have the same grip strength? No. Do I have the same reach? Also no. But what I do have is the ability to achieve the exact same end result simply by doing things a little differently.
Advice from Liz
To anyone new to winemaking who may be intimidated by the manual labour involved, here are a few tips from me:
- Use the tools provided and save your hands – get the spanner to tighten the nut on the wine hose to stop it leaking (just please don’t overtighten and flatten the o-ring!)
- Be proficient on the forklift and use it as an extension of yourself – no-one wins with a back or shoulder injury.
- Always think about your manual handling technique – ask for help and respect your limits.
- Invest in the workwear that fits – there are a bunch brands available that are designed for women. Your boots for example, need to fit you well, they are probably the most important piece of equipment you have. Feel good in what you’re wearing.
March Forward
This year, the theme of International Women’s Day is Accelerate Action or March Forward, so I’m asking; how can we make winemaking jobs even more accessible and enjoyable for women? I believe we need to look at innovative solutions to improve this aspect further. Perhaps utilising engineering is better for everyone – not just women in the winery. What I would challenge the industry to think about (and this extends beyond wine into many other trades) is the design of tools that can be used more easily by women – and in fact, everyone! Carrying around a 2inch spanner [see photo below] will overload any tool belt – can we make one that is telescopic?
The research has been done, and it’s confirmed that diverse teams are strong teams1.
“In my experience, diverse teams are a happy hunting ground for innovation, problem-solving and quite frankly, making some outstanding wines. At Mount Langi Ghiran, difference is not only valued and celebrated, but I believe can be experienced in a glass of our Shiraz.”
With a little bit of engineering, we have the ability to open up the industry to more people who look like me (and hopefully younger too!). And with a few more advocates, giving women “permission” to be themselves, we’ll all win with happier workplaces and as a result – better wines.
Visit us on socials to hear more from Liz
1 https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/why-diversity-matters.
