Women of the wine world

In Geneva’s winemaking world, women are increasingly stepping into the spotlight, bringing with them fresh perspectives and uniquely female sensibilities. Armed with modern and ancestral savoir-faire, these passionate winemakers make refined wines that diversify local production while capturing the essence of the region’s terroir.

The Canton of Geneva is home to almost 120 different wineries that span 1,400 hectares of vineyards, making it one of Switzerland’s most consequential winegrowing regions. Around 30 of these wineries are run by women, either as a solo endeavour or in partnership with a man. While 25% may not seem like a lot, it is most surely an improvement. Historically, the physically demanding nature of winemaking was considered a man’s job — a reflection of society’s traditionally defined gender roles.

Female winemakers
In case there was any lingering doubt, today, winemaking is as much a woman’s job as a man’s. We spotlight three Genevan women winemakers who run their family-owned estates and have successfully used technology to enhance their ancestral family know-how.

“The man by which the terroir makes its wine”. So goes the Hutin family maxim, which speaks volumes of their work at their estate in Dardagny. Émilienne Hutin Zumbach is the 5th generation to be at the helm of the family winery, where she enjoys working in their 19 hectares of biodynamically treated vineyards with her son Guillaume. She is particularly proud of the 2024 gold medals they received at the Chasselas World Cup (Aigle) and the Concours International du Gamay (Lyon), awards for two grape varieties considered to be a “safe bet”. The reward means even more when one considers the incredibly tough competition they were up against. It’s also worth noting that the winery was invited to join “Mémoire des Vins Suisses”, a prestigious association for select Swiss winemakers: an honour that deserves a toast!

The same holds true for the nine-hectare Domaine Dugerdil Dardagny (DDD) estate, which has been run with finesse and care by oenologist and winemaker Sophie Dugerdil since 2004. Having received the revered “bud” label from Bio Suisse, here, herbicides and synthetic treatments are forbidden. The winery grows 15 distinct grape varieties and makes around 25 different wines, hence the slogan “One land, a thousand flavours”. Sophie is particularly proud of the IndiGenève line, which forgoes commercial yeasts in favour of indigenous yeasts that encourage spontaneous fermentation.

Meanwhile in Cologny, the Domaine de la Vigne Blanche estate boasts over 100 years of Meylan family history. The farm had its beginnings as a dairy and produced milk until 1970, when Roger Meylan planted the very first vine, “En la Vigne Blanche” (hence the wine estate’s name). In 2002, his daughter Sarah Meylan Favre, who’s an oenologist by training, joined him until she eventually took over the winery’s operations in 2014. She has since diversified the wine farm’s offering, expanding from two 1970 vines to 14 grape varieties today. In 2016, she was also awarded the Bio Suisse “bud” label, making her yet another incredible female winemaker whose vines and wines embody her passion.