Dr Erna Blancquaert | Wine and Women
An interview with Dr Erna Blancquaert, who's doctoral thesis focused on the 'Effect of Light Quality on Fruit Growth, Composition and the Sensory Impact of the Wines'. In celebration of South African Women's Month, we discuss natural curiosity, science for the non science minded (me), imposter syndrome, empowerment and transformation, the 'youths', gender, and wine.
Dr Erna Blancquaert
I first met Dr Erna Blancquaert at a wine tasting in the summer of 2022. Sporting a noticeable sheen (aka glow) after huffing up two flights of stairs, I was awkwardly balancing a wine glass, phone, pencil and tasting sheet while scouting the least crowded region to fill my glass. Erna sidled up to me and teased me about looking confused. She’d noticed my discomfort and had made the effort to ease my anxiety with her down-to-earth practicality and kindness. It was only in the last seconds of our 5 minute long tete-a-tete that I let on that I was in absolute awe of her and her accomplishments.
A year later, also in summer and yet again glistening in a crowded room, a familiar face sidled up to me and teased ‘hello, young lady’. This time it was her firm but supportive parting words that stuck with me: ‘Get it done’. Those words whispered to me in the quiet early hours of morning study sessions and in the cacophonous evenings after work…they quelled the rising panic as my exam approached. When I found out that I’d passed the WSET Diploma, Erna was the very first person I thought of…because her casual ‘get it done’ that had echoed in my brain day in and day could now be answered with ‘I did it, I got it done’.
Dr Erna’s list of achievements and accolades is a mile long (and that’s saying something as a metric person who doesn’t grasp the concept of miles!). A PhD in Viticulture, Fulbright African Research Scholar, researcher, academic, lecturer, mother, wife…inspiration. In spite of all these achievements she is still confronted with barriers to further progress on a regular basis. And still, because of her steadfast willingness to help others, she made time for this interview:
You’re the first black woman to receive a Ph.D. in Viticulture! I can barely remember the difference between an atom and a molecule! Where did your love for science come from? And why did you choose Viti?
I'm naturally very curious and want to find out how systems work - how things gel together because we cannot live in isolation. And my brain has always been programmed that way.
I always enjoyed sciences and maths in school. I wanted to study medicine and a bunch of other careers. What fascinated me was the use of science and nature to create a unique product which tells you several stories by taking one sip. I wanted to become a winemaker, but I soon realised that great wines are made in the vineyard.
Do you think that science can be learned later in life…or is it a predisposition towards this way of collating and interpreting information?
At this point I held up my copy of David Bird’s Understanding Wine Technology as a way of proving that I am serious about attempting to learn the science. Erna promptly asked me to hold, ducked under her desk, and re-emerged with a copy of the same book!
I think it's possible, but it will take a little longer for a number of reasons. One of which is that your brain changes over time - as you age you start to forget things. I'm a tactile person; I need to see things. This helps the science part of the brain, as well as memory.
People learn differently - I have a photographic memory and can visualise content in the study material
If I can give some advice, the best way to learn is to do - be there when people are pruning to see how it's done because science has shown that your brain remembers things that you've actually done.
I argued that I think most people are visual learners able to recall a page. Erna wisely closed this discussion with, ‘No, it's about training the brain’.
I’ve bumped into you with the Viticulture and Oenology students who you lecture and supervise, and have been delighted by watching you interact with them (and wished I was one of them). As a woman of colour at Stellenbosch University, did you struggle with imposter syndrome, and have you had similar struggles with having to prove your intellect, abilities, and intentions?
This is my daily reality. I am second guessed by my seniors and in the broader wine industry. If I speak up about it I am told to become more tenacious and resilient. It is also the case when supervising my students – even if I conceptualised the project. Sadly, this problem will remain in our wine industry until the leadership becomes more diverse and inclusive. It is also why we struggle with retaining bright young individuals which is the cause for the massive “brain drain” we are currently experiencing.
How do you combat imposter syndrome?
When does imposter syndrome ever stop? It is very, very real.
I'm grateful and thankful for the many mentors in my life who've been phenomenal: they’ve been there to wipe my tears, and they’ve been there with a glass of bubbles to celebrate my successes.
Imposter syndrome will always be there. Some days it’s bad. Even when you’re a hard worker striving towards excellence, there is focus on the faults. Other days you learn to live with it because it is a reality in the spaces that I exist.
“At the end of the day, I am worthy. I am enough for where I’m at.”
It hasn’t come easy as it requires sacrifices - family time…being away from my family. It comes at the price of not being able to see my friends. But there's always hope.
We talked about how remembering your passion and why you’ve chosen your path are also ways to overcome feelings of inferiority. For Erna, viticulture isn’t about the money or the pieces of paper:
It's not about me, it's about the bigger purpose. It's about making South Africa great. And it’s about treating people with respect.
She painted a picture about waking up early: enjoying being in the field, hearing the world wake up and seeing how everything starts. As well as watching the world prepare to rest at the end of the day. We laughed about one of her Master’s students breaking that silence by playing music from little portable speakers: her reasoning was that the music would scare away the snakes. Erna’s retort? ‘But you are visiting their territory’.
Empowerment and transformation - race, gender, South Africa…let’s discuss! By and large, the wine world is still very much dominated by males. How do you think SA is doing? Do you see more diversity in this field on campus?
As mentioned, the institutions are reluctant to change – this has a major impact on the market. We can only change this by unlocking new markets and educating the consumers, this is not possible if knowledge is being gate-kept.
When I walk into my lectures there are roughly 60% females and 40% males. There’s been a dramatic shift from when I was a student. However, what happens after graduation is another story. Some women venture into other streams - the good thing about our degrees is that it is applied. The science stays the same, it’s the application that change.
I think that females are better viticulturists and winemakers. We might not be as physically strong. But we are a bit more tactile and have attention to detail. You might not be able to lift a barrel but there are other ways to move barrels. Work smarter, not harder.
There's still much to be done in terms of females in work spaces. Even job interviews involve an expectation, especially for young women. It shouldn’t be about judging a female's ability to have kids. It should be about us having a fair chance and having the ability to choose.
I mentioned the Meg + Mel podcast who discussed how society, the work environment, and wineries also need to change. E.g. If men received better paternity leave and were given the choice to dual parent equally, then having children and caring for them wouldn’t be as much of a factor when employing women.
*We acknowledged that not everyone wants kids and not everyone is able to have kids.*
I’m a BIPOC female - it's an employment advantage in South Africa, but I’ve also felt it’s a double disadvantage in real life. Which makes me wonder/worry about young somms and hospitality staff dealing with the public and their male peers, vineyard workers, and young winemakers. How do you think the BIPOC youth are doing?
BIPOC staff are struggling in hospitality. The reality is that they work long hours and earn low salaries. They have very little room for development (this is however very dependent on the employer as there are employers who do a lot to develop their staff). Long hours and low salaries result in the staff prioritising their families having food. It’s a double-edged sword, which requires a lot of attention.
Let’s talk pronouns: what are your thoughts on gendering wines/grape varieties (Barolo vs Barbaresco, Pinot Noir vs Cabernet Sauvignon)?
Hahaha… this brings back memories of an experimental wine that Luca Orselli, one of my former MSc students, made. He called the blend of Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon – the Queen and King).
As much as assigning human traits to inanimate objects is human nature and giving wine’s personalities can be a helpful study tool, at the end of the day, the viticulturist and scientist returned to the facts: a grape is an earlier ripening variety with the low tannin concentration, or a late ripening variety with intense and powerful tannins. End of story.
What about specifying gender in professions: ‘female viticulturist’ versus ‘viticulturist’, a ‘woman winemaker’ versus ‘winemaker’
These terms exist in countries where little is done to improve it. I call it “easying the conscience”. Countries like Argentina are miles ahead on this front. Females are just as capable of doing a job.
We shouldn't be specifying genders - we should keep it neutral. But I guess, because there aren't many females, that's why it's sort of stuck.
How did you find wine, or wine find you? Did you discover wine before or after viticulture? Tell me your wine story.
Wine labels got me into it – I couldn’t understand how a wine smelled like cherry, tobacco and chocolate, but the grapes didn’t smell like this. I am inquisitive and this is what set me on this path.
DR Erna recommended creation sauvignon blanc. tell me about the wine and why you’ve chosen it. What’s your go-to pairing for wine? And do you have any suggestions for food pairings?
We live in one of the most beautiful countries with a rich biodiversity. All of this has an impact on the quality of the wines we produce. More recently I conducted research in Elgin and Hemel-en-Aarde. Creation in the Hemel and Aarde is an exceptional producer who brings nature and science together when crafting their wines. The terroir expression and skill of the team can be tasted in this aromatic wine with its saline notes. The palate is vibrant, driven by the minerality, and the acidity and textured sensation point to ageing on the fine lees for a few months. Definitely a wine to be consumed as an aperitif and also with seafood, but the best accompaniment is salmon sashimi.
Creation has done much work in terms of understanding the plant, virus-free plant material that they supplied to the industry through VITITEC , and developing their team (which not all entities do). They focus on sustainability and the customer experience - you immediately feel warmth from everyone working in their tasting room.
I launched into my recent realisation that, of all the grape varieties, Sauvignon Blanc feels like the grape that consumers can most easily understand how viti affects the wine (sunlight vs shade, row orientation, leaf removal, etc). I nattered on about how I was surprised by the number of different clones listed on Creation’s fantastic tech sheet. And how New Zealand’s investment in research makes up-to-date information easily accessible to the public. Erna indulged my attempt at ‘science’ and shared this story:
About 10-12 years ago, South African red wines were said to taste green. My PhD supervisor Professor Alain Deloire actually started leaf removal in SA in Cabernet Sauvignon. Judicious leaf removal should be done as we don’t know whether a heatwave might develop later.
What’s the thing you love most about wine that you’d want to share with the world?
Every sip of wine is like a time capsule. It tells you a story about how the grapes ripened. (I joke about being able to tell the colour of the winemaker’s socks when the grapes were harvested!) It takes you to the growing season and everything that happened (fruit growth – harvesting – winemaking – ageing). Savour the moment and be grateful (grapeful) for all the thousands of women and men braving the cold and heat to tend to these vines. The teams who make these wines and the one’s selling it on the floor.
"We are all placed on this earth with a purpose so be grateful and be nice – it doesn’t cost anything to be nice."
If you happen upon a quiet looking woman observing the tasting room with a twinkle in her eyes...do yourself a favour and say hello. Sure, Dr Erna's list of accolades is intimidatingly impressive...but her kindness, friendliness, humour and her belief in supporting the next generation of researchers and wine professionals, particularly BIPOC individuals, is what make her so wonderful.
And if you ever doubt yourself or feel you're facing an impossible hurdle, visualise a kind but firm voice telling you to 'get it done'.
