Celebrating Women in Wine: Erin Fields, Penley Estate

As the Brand and Communications Manager at Penley, Erin Fields is not just the brains behind their incredibly aesthetic IG feed - she’s also helping to lead the charge when it comes to more sustainable and alternative forms of packaging that’s good for the planet, and good for the wine too.

"Penley has been more than just a job to me, it’s become a part of my life!"

What I wanted to be as a kid: "As long as I could remember, I wanted to be a flight attendant… and when I was 19 I became one for Virgin Australia. After 2 and a half years of flying, hundreds of hotel rooms, countless ear infections and a few too many warnings about the rips in my stockings, I decided it wasn’t as glamorous as I thought. Besides that, I have always known that I would work closely with people. I love people!"

The reason I chose to work in this region: "I was very lucky in that I kind of just fell into this job. I started at Penley in 2015 just to help answer a couple of emails here and there for a few hours a week… it very quickly (within the first hour) turned into a full time job. Ever since I feel like Penley has been more than just a job to me, it’s become a part of my life!" 

What working in wine means to me: "To me, wine marketing is about evoking a sense of place, pleasure and joy. Wine is so often associated with special occasions, intimate moments or just general good times, so marketing it is about tapping into those emotions and sharing high quality, unique products. I love the idea of connecting with people through wine, whether it's through tastings, social media, or market visits. I particularly love tapping into the emotions of what wine means to people."

My biggest win & fail: "Honestly, I could write a whole book about my biggest fails in the wine industry, most of which involve labelling wines with incorrect information. My proudest achievement to date though has been the rebrand that Penley has just gone through, and moving towards more sustainable packaging."

"You never know what you can learn from people, especially if they have a different perspective from your own."

Who I look up to in the wine industry: Mostly I look up to the women that I work for, Ang and Bec Tolley, they could have given up on the wine industry a long time ago, and instead of just following in the traditional footsteps of their ancestors, they forged their own path. Plus they support me in all my wacky ideas!"

Advice I would give to women wanting to enter the wine industry: "I think this would be the same for women in any industry, but my advice would be to build a network of people you can learn from, and hopefully people you can trust too. Also the more diverse that network is, the better. You never know what you can learn from people, especially if they have a different perspective from your own."

My wine of choice to relax on a Friday: "It really depends on my mood, but I could never say no to a glass of Zibibbo from the winery Cos in Sicily… and if budget wasn’t an issue, it would of course be a glass of Nuits-Saint-Georges."

My current music jam: "Don’t ask me why, but it would have to be "Days Like This" by Van Morrison."

We're committed to ALWAYS having wines available that are made by women. In an industry that’s still dominated by men, we believe in celebrating the incredible work women are doing. Here’s to our Women in Wine!