Humble Grape launches Women in Wine campaign

By Oliver Catchpole

Published: 02 March, 2026

Humble Grape – an independent with a number of wine bars, shops and restaurants – has launched its “Women in Wine: Smashing Grapes and the Patriarchy” campaign for International Women’s Month.

Running from March until summer, the aim of the initiative is to celebrate women winemakers, put the focus on women-owned vineyards and to tackle long-standing gender imbalances in the wine industry.

Humble Grape emphasised that the wine industry remains male-dominated – with 82.2% of all winemakers being men, according to Forbes – while making a product consumed by women at a greater proportion than men.

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Amongst alcohol drinkers in the UK, 48% of women say wine is the drink they have most often, compared to 24% of men (per a YouGov survey from 2022), while another survey (Women's Wine and Spirits Awards, 2019) found that 80% of those purchasing wine in the UK were women.

In addition to this, a report by Curious Vines found that 78% of women said that sexism and gender bias is an issue in the UK wine industry – with 44% considering leaving the trade because of challenges they face.

Speaking to Harpers, Enya Buchenau, marketing and communications manager for Humble Grape, said: “The wine industry has always been quite patriarchal. Most of the people who go through wine schools are men and it was always quite a snobby male job.

“That’s obviously changed a lot – we have a lot of women on our wine teams, and most of the people who visit us are women.

“We want to make sure that our offering represents that as well, and that the industry just keeps being as inclusive as possible.”

To highlight female winemakers and woman-owned estates across the world, Humble Grape will introduce a dedicated Women in Wine collection in its retail shops, and a Women in Wine flight in its bars, where a rotating by the glass selection will also spotlight women.

The “Women in Wine” theme will also extend to two tastings taking place on 10 and 31 March.

As part of the wider campaign, the independent will run a number of schemes, including offering every woman who dines at its restaurants from 8-10 March a free glass of wine, which it called “a small gesture recognising the women leading the way”.

Perhaps more impactful is the fact that the group will offer a 20% subsidy for women to take WSET courses on the next available dates.

On a more permanent basis, it has also implemented the “Ask for Angela” initiative – a scheme aimed at improving safety at bars and clubs – while additionally stocking bathrooms with complimentary period products and essential beauty items.

Humble Grape has also been pushing to make its own team more diverse. Edyta Janicka, its HR manager, added: “In 2021, our leadership structure reflected a familiar industry pattern: one woman in a seven-person leadership team.

“Now, women represent 35% of our total workforce (46 out of 130 team members), and 34% of our management team (10 out of 29 leaders), a figure that has grown by 12% year-on-year.

“Our head office leadership team now includes seven women within its 15-person senior structure. Still not a perfect balance, but real progress, built through deliberate change rather than symbolism.

“We’re moving in the right direction, and we’re committed to moving faster.”

More information on the campaign is available here.

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