We’re excited to welcome the very talented, Namibian-born winemaker Lucinda Heynes to the Wine for the World family. Lucinda is the founder and winemaker of illimis wines, the smallest winery that we’ve worked with to date, making less than 500 cases of wine a year. While her production is small, her pedigree is massive. She has as worked at Screaming Eagle and Sandhi in California, among others over her decade of professional experience as a viticulturist and enologist. A viticulturist at heart, she believes that everything starts with the vines. Every vintage is unique, and her hope is that every wine is a tribute to the endless pursuit of refining the potential of each site the Illimis wines are made from. Her many experiences have helped hone a crystal-clear vision for her wines and process. With Illimis, the Latin word for clarity, the intention is to honestly and gently harness what nature offers and be a window to where its vineyard is rooted. Lucinda follows a minimal intervention principle as far as possible, allowing the wine to express its origin with clarity, finesse and complexity.

Winemaker Maricruz Antolin has helped shepherd in a new era for Argentina, as her winery is the first to make organic and biodynamic grapes in a certified organic winery. She believes these gentle, sustainable practices offer an important blend of nature and human touch and allow a pure representation of terroir. Her description of the winery is transportive:

“When you get into our estate, you can feel, hear, smell and see the Nature. You can see and hear the birds flying or resting in the trees and also different kind of animals grazing. At the same time the wind embraces the trees and its sound come through our ears. The environment is so healthy that you can see wild flowers all over the vineyards, with different native weeds that are a needed part of our farm. Then we can smell the wet organic soil at the same time with the rest of the flowers. It is very nice when the nature get into your pores, into your eyes. Is a detoxifying experience. ”

Chozas Carrascal emerged through the joint passion of wife and husband team, María José Peidro, an enologist, and Julián López, an entrepreneur, In 1990 they became fascinated with a unique, high altitude location in a nature preserve and saw the potential for
making special wines. Now helmed by their daughter María José, this Valencian bodega – which has achieved the elite Vino de Pago status - utilizes modern techniques, many invented by the matriarch herself, to create wines with a singular sense of Mediterranean purity. Now herself the mother of two children, Maria Jose is the #ladyboss that calls the shots around the winery, and is leading Chozas Carrascal into the future.

What’s better than one super talented woman winemaker? Two! Led by the impressive Corlea Fourie and Natasha Williams, Bosman Family Vineyards has seen a complete transformation in the approach, wines, and capabilities during their tenure. Equally impressive is how they have quietly built a reputation for outstanding wines in a very raw and unknown appellation. Female empowerment does not stop at the winemaking - efforts have been implemented on the farm to offer skills and entrepreneurial development among female farmworkers through the Bosman Farming Woman Club.