‘I am woman, hear me roar
In numbers too big to ignore’ . . .
The words, from the 1972 Helen Reddy song, are synonymous with women’s empowerment.
Hear me roar – the gin? Well, that’s also about women’s empowerment, this time in the Australian wine industry. An initiative of the Australian Women In Wine Awards, hear me roar – the Gin is the world’s first gin where 100% of profits go to assist women to flourish and succeed in their wine careers. Money raised will go towards scholarships, mentoring programs and professional development.
It is a continuation of the work the board started in 2015 and follows on from its inaugural hear me roar – the Shiraz, which was launched in 2019 and raised nearly $40,000 to assist women. This time round, the group hope to raise more, a lot more. It is needed now more than ever. Not only is the presence of women in the industry notably low – women represent barely 30% across the industry, and at senior levels it’s less than 10% – but their voice often struggles to be heard. That’s why hear me roar resonates so strongly both in name and in deed.
Three main ingredients – blackcurrant leaf, native finger lime and Tasmanian pepperberry – were chosen as the basis of hear me roar – the Gin, by a vote of women across the wine industry. The winner was Tracy Taylor of Tasmania’s Southwood Vineyards. The gin is now in production and available for pre-order.
The project is headed by AWIWA board member and respected winemaker and distiller, Rebekah (Beck) Richardson, who is based in South Australia. Early in its development, Ms Richardson noted the basic form the gin would take. “At this stage, I have the pepperberry as the defining flavour and aroma with the finger lime coming in behind to give a bit of mellow citrus. The blackcurrant leaf is not really evident as it adds more of a structural component. It’s a really nice balance of aromatic and savoury notes. Very roar like!”
Ms Richardson has worked in the Australian wine industry for 25 years and is now a wine consultant and distiller with her own Lucid Distilling. “The hear me roar project is a great way to lift up the next generation of women in our wine community,” she says. “I love that I can give back and help support other women coming through. I feel it is our responsibility to do what we can to be the change we want to see.”
The entire hear me roar – the Gin project has been supported by industry donations from the stunning label courtesy of Denomination Design to base spirit (Tarac), bottles (Saverglass) and more, through to marketing (Brand Warrior).
Hear me roar – the Gin will be officially launched on December 8 at Calabria Family Wines in the Barossa Valley.
NOTE: Jeni Port is a founding board member of the Australian Women In Wine Awards.
