“Why do [women] only get one day a year?” asks Jenny Cheng, recalling a conversation she had with friend and now-business partner Bree Nicholls on International Women’s Day in March 2021. “Why not 365?”
At the time it was just a throwaway comment, but it sparked an idea that became Sip’er, a new female-focused bottle shop that stocks wines, beers and spirits crafted by incredible women around the world.
“When we started looking into products for the site, there were so many brands that we knew of and loved but didn’t even recognise that women made them,” says Cheng. “We tasted every single product. The site is so personal to us, and we wanted to make it easy to understand and tell these [producers’] stories in an approachable way.”
The push for more representation of female drinks-makers has grown in recent years. Sip’er follows Joans of Marc, a female-led wine subscription pack by Alysha Moscatt and Lucy Kendall, who run Gippsland wine label Allevare. It’s not about saying these products are only good because women make them, but to help educate customers on the female talent in the drinks industry, so you can choose to support whatever they go on to create in the future.
Sip’er’s online store has around 30 Australian brands, divided into categories such as “something bold” and “something fancy”. You’ll find beers from Adelaide’s Sparkke, vino from Brave New Wine in Western Australia and spirits from Tassie’s Taylor & Smith Distilling Co. Each brand has women producers, growers or booze-making talent – all still under-represented in the industry at large. Wine Australia estimates only 38 per cent of people employed in the industry are female. And looking at the number of women in leadership roles, that figure drops to 10 per cent.
“Our backgrounds aren’t in alcohol, we just know what we like drinking and want to make it easy for people to find something they will enjoy,” says Nicholls. “The aim is to encourage people to try something different, discover new brands, while also giving women some well-deserved recognition.”
For Cheng and Nicholls, Sip’er is about celebrating the stories of each maker. “I really want the chance to interview Melly Barajas Cárdenas,” says Nicholls – for Sip’er’s Her Story section, which profiles the women makers behind the products they sell. “She makes these incredible tequilas in recycled Coke bottles, and the whole La Gritona team is made of local women.”
Sip’er ships nationally.
