"Men can make very fine, elegant wines," Taupenot-Daniel says. "Women can make very powerful wine. It's according to the person, man or woman. And it's according to the wine."
In California, some wineries use their winemaker's gender as a sales point, though whether that's because of a belief that women are better at winemaking or merely an appeal to female solidarity is hard to say. With Burgundy, however, the great majority of first-line customers — importers and wine buyers — are male.
"I think they don't care if the wine is made by a woman," Taupenot-Daniel says. "At the beginning, people were looking for a style of wine, an elegance. Now, if the quality is good, that's it."
One difficulty male winemakers don't face is this: Senard-Pereira is pregnant with her first child, due during this year's harvest.
"It's considered good luck to have a baby at harvest," she says. "I hope this is the next winemaker. Really I hope."
She doesn't yet know if it's a boy or a girl. The next generation may be the first where it won't matter.
