In honor of Women’s History Month, Vintegrity would like to highlight a number of noteworthy brands in its portfolio that are owned and/or operated by women!
Cheryl Bisbee
Boozy Botanicals
Cheryl Bisbee turned her passion for creating all-natural syrups at home into a business – Boozy Botanicals! Her infused syrups bring a new depth of flavor and complexity to cocktails, although they can be used in other cooking applications as well. Boozy Botanicals is right at home here in Kansas City and Bisbee loves to incorporate fresh ingredients sourced from local growers and businesses.
Boozy Botanicals’ range of all-natural infused syrups includes flavors like Rosemary Mint, Cardamom Spice, Ginger Hibiscus, Lavender Earl Grey, and more!
Available in Missouri and Kansas.
Carol Shelton
Carol Shelton Wines
Carol Shelton is one of the nation’s most-awarded winemakers. She began her 35-year career as an expert winemaker at UC-Davis, where she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Enology. She worked for nearly 20 years as a winemaker at Windsor Vineyards, where she would oversee the bottling of 45 different wines each year. While she got to work closely with many different varieties of wine, she found that she connected most closely with Zinfandel.
In 2000, Carol and her husband, Mitch, started her namesake winery, Carol Shelton Wines. As President and CEO of her own winery, Carol was free to explore and experiment with her favorite type of wine, Zinfandel. Carol sources her fruit from vineyards around California and handcrafts her wine with creativity and passion, creating award-winning, whimsical expressions known for their robust flavors and aromas.
Available in Missouri.
Jenni and Marko Karakasevic
Charbay Distillery
Charbay Distillery owners Jenni Karakasevic and her husband, Marko Karakasevic, purchased the family-owned distillery from Marko’s father, Miles Karakasevic, in 2017. They continue to uphold the distillery’s values of old-world European knowledge and American creativity. Jenni and Marko are now teaching their sons the art of business.
The pioneering spirit of Charbay is clear with their continued success in creating new and innovative spirits and wine. In 1998, Charbay released Meyer Lemon Flavored Vodka, which was the first 100% fresh fruit flavored vodka in the US and they were also the first to establish a method for distilling bottle-ready beer into whiskey.
Available in Missouri and Kansas.
Françoise Frissant
Chateau Coupe Roses
Chateau Coupe Roses is located in southern France in La Caunette near Montagne Noire and is run by owner and winemaker, Françoise Frissant. Frissant oversees 143 acres of vineyards and wine production with help from her husband, Pascal, and son, Mathias.
These family-run vineyards stretch across wide limestone uplands and are cared for with entirely organic treatments. These wines showcase a unique terroir – a harmonious blend of Mediterranean sun with fresh mountain air. The slow maturation of fruit in Chateau Coupe Roses’ vineyards leads to increased acidity and intense aromas within their wines.
Available in Missouri & Kansas.
Mike and Anne Dashe
Dashe Cellars
With the belief that people shouldn’t have to travel all the way out to wine country to taste good wine, Anne Dashe and her husband Mike started Dashe Cellars in 1996. They work exclusively with small growers in Sonoma, Mendocino, and beyond so they can blend high-quality fruit to produce exceptionally unique wines. They use traditional and “natural” winemaking techniques, including small-lot fermentation, the use of indigenous yeasts, and little-to-no fining or filtration.
Available in Missouri & Kansas.
Marie-Ange Robin
Domaine Guy Robin et Fils
Domaine Guy Robin et Fils is owned and operated by Marie-Ange Robin, daughter of Guy Robin who first acquired, parcel by parcel, the vineyards that now make some of the best Chablis wine. Marie-Ange was first a fine art dealer in Paris before she took over the winery from her father.
Domaine Guy Robin vineyards hold some of the oldest Chardonnay vines in the region, with some plantings aged well over 80 years old. To best honor the fruit, Marie-Ange Robin manages her vineyards as naturally as possible and the resulting wines are weighty and serious with seductive, textural personalities.
Available in Missouri.
Mélanie Pfister
Domaine Pfister
Domaine Pfister has been producing exceptional wines since the time of the American Revolution and is currently run by 8th-generation owner Mélanie Pfister. She trained in Bordeaux, then Dijon as an engineer and oenologist. She completed internships at numerous prestigious wineries such as Zind-Humbrecht, Méo-Camuzet, Château Cheval Blanc, Château d’Yquem, and Craggy Range. She then returned to the family winery in 2006.
The winery has enjoyed continued success under Mélanie Pfister’s direction, with typically 15 different wines produced each year and packaged in over 60,000 bottles. These pristine, clean wines are a tribute to the terroir in northeastern France and her family heritage.
Available in Missouri & Kansas.
Robert, Whitney, and Cameron Fisher
Fisher Vineyards
Fisher Vineyards was founded in 1973 and is now led by second-generation siblings, Whitney, Robert, and Cameron. Winegrower, Whitney Fisher, graduated from Princeton University and traveled to the world to work in different wine industries. She missed the hands-on work and quality focus she was accustomed to at her family’s winery and returned to take on the role of winegrower.
Whitney’s sister, Cameron Fisher, is the Director of Sales and Marketing for Fisher Vineyards, and her brother, Robert Fisher, is the CEO. Together, they continue to produce handcrafted wines that are exceptionally balanced and timeless.
Available in Missouri and Kansas.
Lindsey Hoopes
Hoopes Vineyards
Hoopes Vineyards is owned and operated by Lindsey Hoopes, the 2nd-generation proprietor. Her father started the winery in 1985 and Lindsey continues his pioneering sustainability practices. Lindsey spent time working in international logistics and in the homicide department of the San Francisco District Attorney’s office before she returned to run the family winery.
All of the Hoopes’ vineyards are either Certified Organic or currently undergoing the certification process. Each vineyard is working on implementing a regenerative farm with animals, water recycling systems, and bio-diversity practices.
Available in Missouri & Kansas.
Cristie Kerr
Kerr Cellars
Kerr Cellars is the dream-turned-reality of LPGA pro, Cristie Kerr. Kerr has won 2 Major Championships and 20 LPGA titles, but golf is not her only passion. While playing in a tournament in 2000 in Napa Valley, Kerr fell in love with the beautiful landscape and the world of wine that called it home.
Kerr Cellars is known for its boutique Napa Valley and Sonoma County wines. All fruit is meticulously sourced from vineyards and growers who share the same values and passion for wine as Kerr, who is also a level 1 sommelier. This model has allowed her to craft exceptional wines that are only held back by her imagination.
Available in Missouri & Kansas.
Dr. Sonat Birnecker Hart and Dr. Robert Birnecker
KOVAL Distillery
KOVAL Distillery is one of the largest women-owned distilleries in the US with Dr. Sonat Birnecker Hart at its helm. She worked for over a decade as a professor before becoming the President of KOVAL in 2008. Her work in product development, distribution, and marketing has transformed the family business into a major international brand with availability in over 55 different export markets.
KOVAL Distillery produces award-winning whiskeys, gins, and specialty spirits with an emphasis on crafting highly creative, grain-to-glass products. Together, Dr. Sonat Birnecker Hart and her husband, Dr. Robert Birnecker, have combined centuries of distilling traditions with state-of-the-art modern technologies to bring the world premium organic spirits like no others.
Available in Missouri & Kansas.
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue Wines
Australian singer, songwriter, and actress, Kylie Minogue, launched her wine company in 2020 in collaboration with Benchmark Drinks. Her portfolio now features 9 incredible wines, like the Prosecco Rosé, which was reported to be the best-selling prosecco in the United Kingdom in 2021 by Nielson Holdings. Her wines have earned two golds from Drink Business Wine Awards and are now available in 11 different countries.
Available in Missouri and Kansas.
Lisa Laird Dunn
Laird & Company
In 1678, Alexander Laird arrived in present-day Monmouth County, New Jersey, and found an abundance of apples growing there. He began distilling Applejack and America’s oldest distillery was born!
Today, Laid & Company owes a good deal of its success to the women who helped run it. Current COO and owner, Lisa Laird Dunn, is the 9th generation of Lairds to run the distillery alongside her father (8th) and her son (10th). To make their historic spirits, Laird and Co. only uses fresh apples grown in Virginia and does all the crushing, juicing, and fermenting at their facility in Virginia.
Available in Missouri & Kansas.
Angelina Yañez
Lamadrid Estate Wines
Lamadrid is located in Agrelo, a premier growing region in Argentina that is also known as “the land of Malbec”. All the wine produced by Lamadrid is made with estate-grown fruit from three vineyards: Finca Lamadrid, Finca Matilde, and Finca La Suiza. Traditional organic farming practices and the region’s superb terroir, perfect climate, and excellent sun exposure lead to wines that are firm and structured, yet fruity and inviting.
Angelina Yañez, Lamadrid’s winemaker, has been with the winery for nearly 2015, taking on the role of head winemaker in 2022. She brings a passionate new perspective to winemaking by translating Argentina’s extensive wine history, as well as her own, in new and unique ways.
Available in Missouri.
Melanie and Lizzie Asher
Macchu Pisco
Macchu Pisco was founded in 2006 by Melanie Asher with the goal of introducing the spirit of Peru to discerning drinkers in America, Europe, and beyond. With help from her father, Melanie started the company after graduating from Harvard. Her sister, Lizzie, also a Harvard graduate, joined her at the company after their father passed and together the sisters have been producing premium pisco, Peruvian brandy.
Macchu Pisco produces three modern expressions of pisco:
- Macchu Pisco – premium pisco made naturally from Quebranta grapes with herbal, earthy notes.
- La Diablada – a first-class blend of Quebranta, Moscatel, Italia, and Torontel grapes with an exceptional balance between bold aromas and full-bodied flavor.
- Ñusta Pisco – a prized luxury pisco with delectable aromas of orange blossom and lemongrass.
Available in Missouri & Kansas.
Joyce Nethery
Jeptha Creed Distillery
Family-owned Jeptha Creed Distillery produces a number of “ground to glass” spirits under the direction of Joyce Nethery. Nethery grew up working on her family’s farm and went on to get a master’s degree in chemical engineering. She worked for 15 years as a process engineer in industrial-scale distillation and then worked the next decade as a high school chemistry and physics teacher.
Now as the founder and master distiller of Jeptha Creed Distillery, Nethery uses her passions for growing and chemical engineering together to produce high-quality Bourbon, vodka, moonshine, and brandy.
Available in Missouri.
Mary J. Blige
Sun Goddess Wines
Sun Goddess Wines is Mary J. Blige’s stunning collection of wines created in partnership with Fantinel Winery in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, a world-renowned wine-growing region in northeastern Italy known for its premium Pinot Grigio.
Blige works directly with Fantinel Winery proprietor, Marco Fantinel, to craft her collection of white and rosé wines. Sun Goddess wines are known for their bright minerality and freshness.
Wine is more than just a drink to Blige:
“Wine tasting is one of my passions. Wine is culture. Wine is community. Wine is lifestyle. Wine is emotion.”
Patricia Ortiz
Tapiz – Wapisa – Zolo
Tapiz, Wapisa, and Zolo are impressive wineries located around Mendoza, Argentina under the ownership of Patricia Ortiz. Tapiz produces exceptional Uco Valley expressions with vineyards sitting at 4,600 feet above sea level that produce full-bodied wines that are elegant and balanced. Wapisa is the only coastal vineyard in Patagonia. Patricia incorporates the ocean into the winemaking process by aging the wines underwater, where the pressurized atmosphere and constant temperature create the perfect environment for aging. Zolo was created by Patricia in 2003. These wines are known for their long aging periods, fruit-forward personalities, and aromatic complexity.
Patricia was an MD and social psychologist before she entered the wine world in 2003. She is currently the President of Bodegas Argentinas, the first woman to hold this prestigious position. She is passionately committed to sustainability, which she views as the interaction of the community with the environment, and she encourages responsible practices for social, economic, and environmental sustainability.
Available in Missouri.
