Wine Club March

Women’s History Month – like International Women’s Day - is a celebration of the lives and contributions of women, as well as drawing attention to sex and gender inequalities and advocating for their elimination. It was meant to highlight individuals and achievements ignored by the establishment and subsequently lost to history due to sexism – overt, subtle, institutionalized, or other. In 2025, this celebration is particularly apt, as American cultural, educational, and political institutions race to scrub these highlighted people and their accomplishments from their public media.

So, this month’s blog will be used to highlight the works of accomplished women. We’ll start with the wines, both of which are made by women – the excellent results of which you can taste in your glass!

March Wines

Parés Baltà Blanc de Pacs Penedès

Parés Baltà lies in the heart of Penedes, inland between Tarragona and Barcelona. Vines on this estate were first planted in 1790 – and some of these still exist. Today, the estate is owned by brothers Joan and Josep, who are the 3rd generation of the Cusiné family. The wine is made by two women who married into the family;  María Elena Jiménez married Joan, and Marta Casas married Josep. They both studied enology at the University of Tarragona before taking over winemaking duties at the winery. The women added new (sometimes old) techniques (e.g. amphora), and a concern with reviving local grapes. Viticulture is biodynamic and organic, and production features minimal intervention.

The Blanc de Pacs was the first wine ever produced at Pares Balta, almost 40 years ago – about 20 years before María Elena and Marta came to the winery. This vintage contains the classic blend of Parellada (42%), Macabeu (34%), and Xarel·lo (24%). The grapes were fermented in stainless steel via native yeasts. Minimal sulfur is added. The resulting wine is a gorgeous, fresh mix of white flowers, apples, hints of peach and melon, plus some wet-stone minerality.

Giovanna Tantini La Rocca Bardolino DOC
This estate is located in Verona, off the southern end of Lake Garda, an area in which wine production pre-dates the Romans. This land has been family-owned since the early 20th century, but the winery was only built in 2002. Just prior, Giovanna left her law practice to start making wine on the family estate. Bardolino is a name for reds from this region – centered around the town of Bardolino – using the local grapes, and it is a style that Giovanna is interested in promoting.

The wine is made from Corvina and Rondinella from Bardolino. The grapes were hand-harvested and vinified separately. The bulk of the wine is rested in stainless, while a smaller portion spends several months in oak.  The result is elegant and delightful. It has notes of sour cherry, wood berries, vanilla, sandalwood, rose petals, and anise, in a smooth, lighter-body style.

Honoring Women

While enjoying your wine made by these women, spend a little time recognizing the achievements of a few Spanish and Italian women who came before them.

Josefina Castellví was born in 1935 in Barcelona. She is an oceanographer, biologist, and prolific writer.  Her work on marine bacteriology led her to Antarctica in 1984; at that time, she was the first Spaniard to participate in an international expedition to Antarctica. Following a decade of scholarship, she led Spain’s Juan Carlos I Antarctic Base as its lead oceanographer. Her scholarly accomplishments are many and led to numerous honors and awards. She also has a landform named for her: Castellvi Peak on Hurd Peninsula, on Livingston Island in Antarctica.  

A compatriot of Castellvi – though not one of Catalan origin – was also especially successful in the world of oceanography. Angeles Alvariño was born in 1916 in Serantes, Spain, and became a biologist and oceanographer. Early in her career, she was not allowed to do research aboard Spanish naval vessels due to a prohibition against women, but she became the first female scientist aboard Spanish and British research vessels.  She spent much of her research time on the water investigating zooplankton; she discovered 22 new species of them. A further two plankton were named for her by others, as was a ship for scientific exploration. She received numerous awards and accolades in life and was the subject of a Google Doodle.

These two Spanish scientists are linked by their substantial accomplishments in oceanography, but also through recognition by their respective regions of Spain; Alvariño was awarded the Great Silver Medal of Galicia, while Castellví received the Creu de Sant Jordi – Catalunya’s highest civil distinction.

Elena Cornaro Piscopia was born in Venice in 1646. She was a polymath with skills in multiple instruments, languages, and subjects. Her learned activities were known by her contemporaries, and she was allowed to attend the University of Padua. There, she earned the Magistra et Doctrix Philosophiae (Teacher and Doctor of Philosophy), the world’s first (known) doctorate awarded to a woman. The university responded to her achievement by then prohibiting women from receiving doctorates. Elena is the topic of many murals and statues, and in 2019 she was celebrated with a Google Doodle.

Laura Bassi was born in Bologna in 1711. Like Elena Piscopia, she went to the University of Padua; there, she became the 2nd woman to be awarded a PhD by that institution – at the age of 20. While only the 2nd woman to hold the title of PhD, she became the 1st salaried professor. She taught Newtonian Physics and was one of the university’s highest-paid professors. She was a prolific researcher and author and gained numerous accolades and awards. The Bassi Crater on Venus is named after her, and she was honored with a Google Doodle in 2021.

Those are four women with great accomplishments. And, here is a handy chart. I have included Zodiac information just for fun, of course. But, look at that! I am also a Cancer born in the year of the pig 😊. I also do not have a Google Doodle ☹