By Matthew Fitzsimmons

If wine competitions gave awards for witty comebacks, Walsh Family Wine’s “What Will the Women Drink?” red blend would win hands-down.

The story started not long after Nate and Sarah Walsh got married. Their jobs were different but complimentary, with Sarah working as a wine importer and Nate as the winemaker for Sunset Hills Vineyard. Around 2013, they started discussing the possibility of a passion project, where she could learn his side of the business and he could learn hers.

Fast forward a number of years, and this ‘passion project’ expanded from producing small batches of wine to operating their own winery. In 2019, they rechristened the former North Gate Vineyard as Walsh Family Wine.

During their opening day, Sarah was confronted by a patron who asked her, “Excuse me, but are you the owner? I have some advice I’d like to give you”… and he proceeded to explain how Sarah should run her business, not letting her get in a word.

Eventually this patron looked around and asked, “Exactly where will you be putting your wine slushy machine?” Sarah tried to laugh it off, insisting they would never get one.

At this point the man looked at her, and with zero irony asked, “But what will the women drink?”.

This comment would be bad enough if it was an isolated incident, but it’s not. Sarah has heard versions of this story for her entire professional career selling high-end wine. During her visits to places like Napa, Sarah found winemakers almost always cater to a male demographic. Rarely did they market big, bold reds to women.

This gendered approach even extends to the way wines are described. Salespeople often describe big, tannic reds using masculine terms, and lighter-bodied whites as feminine. Only recently has there been a serious debate over how to make the language of wine more inclusive.

Later, recounting the story to her family, she told them, “I want to make this big, bold, dark red blend, and I’m going to call it ‘What Will the Women Drink?’”.

Her family cheered and told her, “That’s a great idea!”

Encouraged by this, Sarah followed up with, “And I’m going to charge men more!”

Her friends talked her out of that later part, but the idea of “What Will the Women Drink?” was born.

What Will the Women Drink? is not only marketed towards women, it also supports women in need. Part of the wage gap of every dollar spent on WWTWD goes to a women’s rights group. The current beneficiary of Walsh’s generosity is Women Giving Back, a Sterling-based non-profit that supports women and children in crisis by providing quality clothing at no cost.

During a Walsh Family Wine charity event that raised $4K, Women Giving Back co-chair Dave Baer rhetorically asked the audience, “How do they get their lives restarted? What’s the basic thing to give yourself a little self-respect and dignity? Where are they going to get their clothing when they are leaving their homes in the middle of the night, being escorted by a police officer? Women Giving Back started by doing clothing drives throughout the DMV, donating gently used clothing to women vetted by social service organizations. These women can come in and shop at no cost to them and pick up anywhere from 50-75 articles of clothing, ranging from children’s items to professional attire.”

Women Giving Back has recently expanded their footprint. It now also services abused men, and partners with other charities, including Loudoun Hunger Relief and LAWS Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services. This grouping enables a comprehensive approach which includes clothing, emergency groceries, and counseling.

To learn more about Women Giving Back or make a donation, check out their website at https://womengivingback.org.

About the Author: Matthew Fitzsimmons is a blogger who has visited nearly every winery in Virginia – most of them twice. Track his progress at https://winetrailsandwanderlust.com