My Boozy Kitchen | Wine and Women

An interview with content creator Abby from My Boozy Kitchen - where we discuss women and wine in celebration of Women's Month in August.

How did you find wine, or wine find you? Tell me your wine story.

I grew up in a very different era to today and have been kinda drinking wine since I was six years old! When my parents moved to the Cape from Natal and were obviously excited to regularly visit wine farms and explore the wine world themselves.  When at home they allowed me to drink wine out of those small beer tot glasses - my mom literally poured just a drop. As I got older the drop got bigger and bigger. I remember thinking ‘I guess I like this wine…it’s a white wine and it's nice and sweet… I like this’. Next time I had wine I was like: ‘now why is this white wine sour and not sweet?’.  Red wine was a challenge - I’d either put it down or try to drink it as fast as possible because I didn't like it. It made my tongue feel funny and weird and was bitter (little did I know why). As I reached my mid teens, my palate matured and the glass got larger. I started asking my mom what wine this is because I wanted to know what kind of wines I was a fan of or not. It was like a magic trick: I found that I’d acquired the taste for wine and wanted to know more about it. 

My dad was also in the wine industry for a while. I was impressed that he could tell a Sauvignon Blanc from a Chenin Blanc, or spot a Cabernet. I was like, ‘how do you know that?’ when, for me, it was just red wine or white wine. So I just had to learn more. And that’s where my passion for and curiosity about the wine industry began…and it’s still there. I still have so many questions about so many things I still want to learn and know. So yeah, in a way, I've pretty much always been in the wine industry.

COGW: Wine runs in Abby’s family. Even Sammy, her ginger cat who can often be seen inspecting wine deliveries, has his own Instagram account - Sammy the Sommeowlier!

You’ve pursued wine certification: what was your experience and has it changed the way you interact with wine?

I really enjoyed doing WSET Level Two. It broadened my wine knowledge. It helped me understand tasting techniques and how to put notes together. I've noticed that my tasting notes have grown so much since then, because I’m now able to pick up on tertiary, secondary and primary characteristics that I never really used to understand.

It's also improved my wine writing skills for both my blog and for my Instagram account. As well as an understanding of more international wines. South Africa can feel like a bubble with so many of our own wines. We don't always have the luxury of finding a bottle of French wine freely available. When I visited the UK, I was overwhelmed by the number of international wines available. In SA, you go to the shop and find only South African wines. That's it. If you want something from Europe or Australia you have to purchase it online. So it was really nice to understand the different regions. And when you follow international wine influencers and wine people or watch wine shows, you now kind of follow along and understand when they're talking about Piedmont or other regions. It's definitely been an eye opener.

Has studying changed the way you experience wine?

My first thought when I take a sip is, ‘Do I like it? Do I not like it?’. After I take the second and the third sip, then other thoughts come in: ‘What am I tasting? What am I trying to taste? What do I like about it? What don’t I like about it? Is it too acidic, too spicy, faulty, brett, oxidised?’. I’m now able to understand what possibly went wrong with the wine -  like puzzle pieces and trying to solve the problem - I can try to understand what I’m not liking about the wine. 

COGW: I loved that Abby first considers whether she likes the wine rather than jumping straight into accessing the wine. She takes a moment to first appreciate the experience…because you never get that first sip back!

Do you think that social media is now pivotal to a wine brand's marketing? What do you think is the future of influencer marketing?

Social media plays a significant role. I read somewhere that "social media is like a digital vineyard, the tasting room of a modern era". Not everyone can visit a wine farm in person, so platforms such as Instagram and TikTok become our virtual wine farms. As a wine content creator, I like to focus on promoting the wine farm itself, emphasising the brand and the wine. When I share content, it’s not about me; it’s about letting others experience the farm through my eyes. I also prefer to not be limited to just one brand. For me, it's all about wine tourism, getting people to hopefully visit the wine farms. When I started blogging, I decided the blog would be for everybody: wine connoisseurs who like R400/R500 bottles of wine, but also for everyday drinkers who can afford the R50 bottle! Hopefully there is something for everyone to enjoy. 

Social media influencers are key players for brands and wine farms. Imagine if every wine farm had automatic Wi-Fi access— it's free marketing for that wine farm!  Social media has shortened our attention spans...I write essays on Instagram and wonder if anyone reads them, especially when I hit that character limit. So it is important that we don't forget the power of longer-form content. Blogs are still important—they’re a treasure chest amongst the hordes of reels and TikToks we save.

Do you think influencers help or hinder a wine's brand?

It can be a little tricky sometimes because some influencers can really elevate the wine culture, while others can unfortunately dilute it. For me personally I prefer to be called a content creator as opposed to a social media influencer. Because the term social media influencer tends to have a bad rap. You hear stories about influencers who demand freebies and have an attitude like an A-list celebrity. When the general public hears the term "influencers" they immediately roll their eyes. It has tarnished the industry like a tainted wine.

The difference between content creators is that we are artisans of our craft. We focus more on the brand at hand rather than a "me.. me.. me.. and what can I get out of the industry" attitude. Authentic and good quality content is like a fine wine - delightful and leaving a lasting impression. 

I’ve asked you to recommend a wine: tell me about the wine and why you’ve chosen it.

COGW: Abby initially recommended Jason's Hill The Beatrix. But I wasn’t able to source a bottle. Nonetheless, here’s why she recommended the wine.

Jason’s Hill was the very first wine farm that I visited when I moved to Worcester. I didn't really know that there were wine farms out in this region. So that inspired me to start blogging again and to tell people about the region. ‘Hey, people you know there's more to know than Stellenbosch and Franschhoek - come over the mountain, there's more wine!’. There's lots of wine flowing in this area and I was flabbergasted at the quality of the wine.

I was tasting at Jason's Hill and thought ‘Wow’. And then on top of it, the price, at that time, the bottle of wine was going for 80 bucks. And I'm like, what? The same bottle of wine would go for R300-R400 in Stellenbosch. It's quality…and it blew my mind. 

Jasons Hill's winemaker is Ivy du Toit. A female - whoohoo! The winery is home to some of the biggest wine awards in the industry, including awards such as Diners Club Young Winemaker of the Year in 2003 and the first-ever Woman Winemaker of the Year Award in 2004. That tells you something about her, her wines and her style of making wines. The Beatrix is their top of the range Chenin Blanc, and Breedekloof is known for its Chenin Blancs. It was fermented in amphora which gives it different characters and flavours.

Do you think that wines made by women are noticeably different in taste and feel?

Female winemakers, especially those from the Breedekloof region, show far more attention to detail. There is a little more of an elegance and a finesse to the wines. Even the labels are so beautiful, elegant and feminine e.g., Le Belle Rebelle Botha Cellar Inspiration Range, or Merwida the Papenkuils Range.

Let’s talk pronouns: what are your thoughts on the use of the term ‘female winemaker’ or ‘woman winemaker’ versus being a ‘winemaker’.

I think for now it's nice to know as it is such a small community of female winemakers - you want to support a fellow female in a heavily dominated male industry. It makes me, as a woman, feel empowered and I want to support fellow females. But, in future, I'm hoping when it's balanced it won't make a difference.

It’d be great if female winemakers visited schools and inspired young women to consider a career in the wine industry. Take the girls out to a cellar, show them what harvesting is about, inspire them to become viticulturists or winemakers or sommeliers. If we can start empowering women from a young age, then why not?

Do you ever have the same imposter syndrome feelings that I do? How do you think we overcome this?

Yes, especially in this region. It is very difficult sometimes. For me, the challenge was that one, I'm an outsider who wasn’t born in this region. Two, I'm a woman. Three, I'm VERY English speaking in a very Afrikaans area. So they automatically assume I don't know Afrikaans. These are all challenges before I can even head to the wine challenge. 

How do you overcome it?

Hmm. That's a tricky one. The way I overcome it is I keep quiet. Grind my back teeth. Probably gonna need false back teeth one of these days from grinding them!

Even with groups of fellow social media content creators, I tend to withdraw because I feel like I'm not at their level. Either it's their huge followings or the way they are very confident in front of the camera, where I'm not. I don't like being in front of the camera. I had to do something for Cape Town magazine and I was getting so frustrated because I had to speak in front of one and it's not who I am. So I retreat into my shell.

We then talked about how there are different types of wine communicators. Those who enjoy speaking or being in front of a camera. And those who prefer essays or short-form copy. We agreed that there is room for all types of content creators.

Which woman inspires you - whether it's a woman in wine, a family member, or a historical or fictional figure? And why?

My Roman Empire is Catharina from Steenberg. Because that woman is badass. I have mentioned that story to  anybody who would listen. Her story impressed me so much. When the going got tough, she just continued. She boarded a boat when women weren't even allowed to be on the boat, came to South Africa which was not even properly established. When her husband was killed, she hunted down the lion that killed him. I mean, really, that's not sitting on a heap crying over your loss. She took control of the situation and got rid of that lion that killed her husband. She's my Roman Empire. She's one that I always think of. That story always stuck with me.

What’s the thing you love most about wine? The toe-wiggling thing about wine that you wish that everyone could experience.

For me, wine is a story. Wine is memories. Wine is art.

The nice thing about wine is how much is involved in that glass. Factors like the soil type, trellising, harvesting times and methods, yeast, pressing, maturation length and oak choice can have an effect on the wine. What bottles and corks do we use? Everything in that final bottle has had an amazing amount of calculation. There's so much involved in that bottle of wine that when you drink it, you appreciate it. And that's why I feel wine and art go so well together - because wine is an art. It is an art to make wine and to enjoy wine! Be it with food, with friends, around the table, around the fire… you're creating memories.

"It is about making memories."

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Abby is a well established content creator who is part of the online and South African wine community. You can connect with her on her substantial blog, she is @myboozykitchen on Instagram and Threads, and she’s on TikTok . And for you cat lovers out there, Sammy’s Insta account is @sammy_thesommeowlier

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