When I started writing about wine in the late 1980s, all of my sources were men. The wine collectors I tasted with were men. The wine importers I interviewed were men. Ditto for the wine merchants and sommeliers. And, certainly, the winemakers were men. 
Like banking or law enforcement or any number of other professions, wine was a male-dominated business. Not anymore.

Today, some of the most acclaimed California labels come from winemakers such as Helen Turley and Heidi Barrett. Some of the most authoritative voices in the industry belong to the likes of British wine critic Jancis Robinson and American wine impresario Andrea Immer Robinson. And it’s no longer unusual to find women succeeding as wine importers, wine merchants or wine stewards in top-rated restaurants.

This, I believe, has been a good thing not only for women, but also for wine. I’ve long sensed that females possess certain advantages over males when it comes to making, serving, appreciating and communicating about wine.

I recently invited a half-dozen women wine professionals from New Jersey to talk about how they got into the business, what keeps them going and some of the things they’ve learned along the way. The women are:

Terri Baldwin, sommelier and wine director at the Bernards Inn in Bernardsville, which boasts more than 1,500 selections and a 12,500-bottle cellar.

Monika Elling, chief executive of Foundations Marketing Group, a wine-marketing consultancy in Mendham.

Andrea Maranca, owner of Tewksbury Fine Wines, a wine store in Oldwick.

Dina Opici, president of Opici Wine Group, one of the oldest wine businesses in New Jersey.

Shirley Roy, a former New Jersey businesswoman who runs Roy Estate, a top-rated Napa Valley vineyard she co-founded with her late husband, Charles Roy.

Brooke Sabel, wine director at Ninety Acres Culinary Center at Natirar in Peapack-Gladstone.

Q. How did you get into the wine business?

Sabel: I didn’t choose it; it chose me. I was originally going into the golf industry, but one wine class in college changed that.
Opici: My passion throughout college was the practice of law. Following graduation from Benjamin Cardozo School of Law in Manhattan, my family offered me an opportunity to get involved in their wine-distribution business. It wasn’t hard to pass up staying up all night researching case law when I could be dining with my winery partners at their vineyard estates.
Roy: I have always had a keen interest in both food and wine, particularly how they relate to each other. In France, I’ve always been in awe of how the cuisine and the regional wines complement each other.
Elling: I kept tripping over wine-related programs as part of my work in international trade, and when I went to launch my own marketing consulting firm, one of my first clients asked me to help him launch his wines in the U.S. I haven’t looked back.
Maranca: I decided to open up a fine-wine shop that I would like to frequent. Living in Tewksbury, there was not a wine store anywhere within a 30-minute drive that held my interest.
Baldwin: After attending a few wine tastings, I was told I had a gifted palate and olfactory senses. I then took the opportunity to travel to France with a well-known importer, Robert Kacher. It all became fascinating to me.

Q. What’s the best thing about working with wine?

Sabel: I get paid to eat, drink and travel. What’s more to love?
Baldwin: I love learning about the families that own and operate vineyards and the stories behind them. 
Maranca: I find it very rewarding when our clients call me after tasting the wines and tell me how much they enjoyed them. 
Opici: Because of the wine business, my family has been afforded the opportunity to travel and experience luxuries that we may never have been exposed to. We are lucky to work in such a culture-rich environment and to have the good fortune to share the experiences as a family.

Q. What’s the hardest part about the wine business?

Roy: Balance — keeping in shape. Too much great food and wine!
Sabel: When I am not working, I am constantly reading, researching and tasting. People think that what I do is fun and entertaining, but there is also a ton of work involved.
Opici: The most challenging aspect of our business is the way in which our relationships with the winery owners has changed over the years as they have sold to larger organizations. Whether due to financial struggles or family dynamics, many of the long-standing family-owned wineries have been forced to sell.
Maranca: Working long hours.

Q. Is discrimination a problem?

Elling: It is not an overt discrimination, and more and more women enter the business every day. However, it is still overwhelmingly a man’s world, making advancement somewhat challenging.
Baldwin: When I was in wine school in the 1990s, there were only three women in a class of 70. I thrived on the challenge of being the underdog, but today there seems to be just as many women in the field as men. 
Opici: There is no question that this is a male-dominated industry. It is not uncommon for me to attend a business event and be the only woman in the room. But I have not experienced discrimination within the industry. If anything, I find that my opinion is received with the utmost respect.

Q. Are women better suited to the wine business than men?

Elling: I would think we have superior tasting skills. Women seek beauty and pleasure, and rely on their senses and instincts. I do believe they are also better communicators than men, and listeners as well. 
Baldwin: Perhaps women can be a bit less intimidating and more approachable than men, which may encourage questions and the feeling of being at ease for the customer.
Maranca: I would like to think women have better palates than men. It seems to me many of the best winemakers in the world are women, including Heidi Barrett (Screaming Eagle, Paradigm, Amuse Bouche, among others), Eileen Crane (Domaine Carneros) and Su Hua Newton (Newton). 
Roy: I do believe that women excel in the hospitality industry. I guess it’s that innate, nurturing side of women. 

Q. What was the most memorable wine experience you ever had?

Sabel: It was in 2005 at a holiday party. My boss put a glass of 1875 Malvasia D’Oliveira in front of me, paired with a Cuban cigar. I was never the same.
Roy: It would be my first taste of Opus One at a bistro in Aspen. It was 1987 and the blackboard special was a glass of Opus for $20. My husband said, “$20 for a glass of wine?” I said, “Yes, I want to try it.” The first sip was different than any other wine I had ever tasted.
Opici: This past summer I traveled to Germany for the first time. One of the most memorable moments was standing on the top of the Wehlener Sonnenuhr vineyard, an extremely renowned and steep property in the Mosel Valley, while drinking 1994 J.J. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese with Dr. Katrina Prum, one of the first female winemakers in Germany.
Maranca: I have been a wine collector for about 25 years now, and at one auction I bought a half-bottle of 1986 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild for about $100. When I took my first sip, it was like drinking a slice of heaven. It was silky and magnificent. Every sip was different and better than the one before.

Q. Could you recommend a few labels that are both affordable and available in New Jersey?

Elling: Bouchaine Chardonnay (California), Honig Sauvignon Blanc (California), Miner Family Vineyards Viognier (California). For a special occasion, try Roy Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (California).
Baldwin: Marchesi di Barolo Gavi (Italy), Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand), Hirsch Gruner Veltliner (Austria), Hermann J. Wiemer Riesling (New York State).
Opici: Johannishof Riesling (Germany), Cesari “Mara” Valpolicella (Italy), Domaine des Victoires Quincy (France).
Sabel: Dibon Cava Brut Reserve (Spain), La Posta Estella Armando Vineyard Bonarda (Argentina).

Q. What are some of your favorite food-wine pairings?

Baldwin: Steamed garlic mussels with a Provencal rose. And believe it or not, pinot noir and pizza!
Roy: Roy Estate Proprietary Red Wine with herbed rack of lamb or plank-grilled salmon.
Elling: Hungarian Tokaji with blue cheese, pear and walnuts.
Opici: Sushi and champagne — you can never go wrong!