Who is that woman on the bottle?
Kira Ballotta is winemaker and owner of two brands: Olivia Brion and Cantadora.
While the brands vary in varietals, they share a mission to celebrate and uplift trailblazing women – Olivia Brion showcases stories of the past, whereas Cantadora tells the stories of today.
Kira began making wine for Olivia Brion in 2016 and in 2019 she took over all winemaking. She founded Cantadora in 2021 and by 2022 she had full ownership of both brands.
“Women are so gritty.
We work so freaking hard for the things that we do.
And I want to honor that.”
“Picture Olivia Brion as the main character in a historical fiction novel and each wine is a chapter in that novel. Each label has an image and an accompanying story of Olivia’s. Collect them all and read her whole story.”
Each of the stories are inspired by the lives of real women throughout history and by scanning the QR code on the back of the bottle you can read more about Olivia Brion’s little adventure as well as the life of the woman who acted as inspiration.
When Kira started at Olivia Brion, they originally had just two wines – a Pinot and a Chardonnay. “When I came along, I expanded the lineup, took it over and continue to do so. I can’t stop.”
On the Pinot Noir, you will see a depiction of Olivia Brion (1884-1921) racing acrosss England against a train. Olivia’s origin story is Inspired by the true story of Annie Londonderry (1870-1947) who was the first woman to ride her bike around the world.
The “Taquine” white blend displays a young and mischievous Olivia donning a scandalous swimming costume. This label was inspired by Annette Kellerman (1887-1975), the first woman to be arrested for wearing a “too-small” swimsuit.
Olivia’s motorcycle voyage from Brooklyn to the San Fransisco 1915 World’s Fair and back again makes the “Les Vagabondes” Tempranillo. This story is inspired by Effie Hotchkiss (1895-1958), the first woman to ride a motorcycle across the United States.
Here comes Cantadora
“People really love the stories of all these trailblazing women from the past, and so I thought ‘Well, what I am passionate about is talking about women right now that are trailblazers in their own right – that are doing something extraordinary for us today whose stories I’m not seeing in my Apple newsfeed.’”
“Whatever you put on the label, you talk a lot about. People love storytelling in wine – that’s one of the things that draws us all together over a bottle. So, there’s an opportunity there.”
Prior to her current role, Kira worked in finance at a big wine company, and she recalls the innovation team brainstorming new ways to sell wine to women.
“Everything was pink and had flowers on it. It was so off putting to me. After becoming a mother and an entrepreneur, and several other things, I was like ‘Women are so gritty. We work so freaking hard for the things that we do. And I want to honor that in a more authentic way.’”
With Cantadora, Kira focuses on a “slightly more opulent style of winemaking. Olivia Brion is Pinot, Rosé, light, bright whites. I love Rhone varietals and Tempranillo, so [Cantadora] allows me to kind of throw my weight around on these richer, denser, varietals.”
“And I tell the stories of these really fascinating women who are just doing the drudge work of making our society better every day.”
Tune back in to read about the women on the labels and why Kira chose to share their stories.
Editor
Natalie is co-founder and editor of The Grapevine Magazine where she helps winemakers big and small tell their stories. She lives in Manhattan, New York City.
