FOR decades the world of winemaking was dominated by men. However, this narrative is evolving, and women are making significant strides in the field. On International Women’s Day, we profile one of the ground-breaking women in the wine industry – Jessica Ferguson, Winemaker at Sirromet Wines, and that’s not all.
Jess’s philosophy towards winemaking is one of patience, curiosity, and minimal intervention. Although coming from a very technical background with qualifications in chemistry and a detailed understanding of fermentation science, she deliberately does not make wine with a rigid formulaic approach.
“There is a reason I’ve ended up in winemaking, and why I lost interest in pharmaceutical manufacturing and food science, “she said.
“The grapes are different every year, Mother Nature provides new challenges each vintage – sometimes excitement, sometimes heartbreak. Every wine requires contemplation and deserves an individual approach, not just a copy of what we did last year.
Sometimes what we don’t do (to a wine) is more important than following a set formula or recipe. The best fruit requires us to not interfere too much, the hard work has been done in the vineyard, and my job is basically not to mess it up.
If it’s been a difficult season in the vintage, yes we might need to work on the wines longer and use those traditional techniques of fining or careful blending. We never rush and we try to stay true to the integrity of the fruit.”
Originally from Tasmania, Ms Ferguson received a Bachelor of Science (Chemistry) in 1996 and accepted a position of Wine Chemist at Sirromet Wines in 2005 after a career start in the food and environmental sciences fields.
In 2011, Ms Ferguson was promoted to Assistant Winemaker, to Winemaker in 2019 and then in 2021 she was appointed to Chief Winemaker and took on the responsibility of overseeing all aspects of Sirromet’s wine production.
Ms Ferguson has overseen all the steps from harvest to bottling of all wines produced at Sirromet Wines and has consistently worked on developing her palate through extensive tasting and benchmarking of regional, Australian and global wines.
In 2019 Ms Ferguson won a national writing competition sponsored by the Women in Wine Awards for which she was offered a place as an associate wine-judge on the Royal Melbourne Wine Awards panel.
She was the inaugural recipient of the AWIW associate judging position and is believed to be the first winemaker from Queensland to officiate at the RMWA.
In 2023, Ms Ferguson completed her Wine & Spirit Education Trust level 4 Diploma in wines; an expert level qualification officiated in London.
Ms Ferguson said the immediate focus is on the quality of everyday drinking wines at Sirromet Wines.
“The super-premium wines are great, but many of our customers are tasting the other end of the price scale,” she said.
“That’s where I want to surprise and delight people.
“Winemaking is a team effort… [and] I would be nowhere without my team.
