In a month when much attention is being paid to the achievements of women, here's a question: does the gender of the winemaker influence what's in the glass?

It's a question I'm uncomfortable asking, as I hate categorising abilities on the basis of male or female. But given the current enthusiasm of publicists for women winemakers, I'm giving it a go.

Interestingly, most of the women who answered the question went off at a tangent, talking about other aspects of winemaking which they believe are more important.

Leonor Freitas, third woman to head four-generation Casa Ermelinda Freitas on Portugal's Sebútal peninsula, is forthright: "I always defend that there is no specific job for men or women, but the right people for the right places. The winemaker's sex is irrelevant."This Is Local London: Leonor FreitasLeonor Freitas (Image: Casa Ermelinda Freitas)

However, across the globe in New Zealand, Kathrin Jankowiec, Villa Maria production winemaker, argues that women "bring an extra skill to the table".

"Female leaders are very capable of getting the very best out of a team; females are passionate and caring and communicate a common goal very effectively."

Back in Portugal, Mariana Vala Salvador, winemaker at Textura in Portugal's mountainous Dao region, sees her own passion about detail in both vineyard and winery as vital. "Women are historically caring and delicate beings, but also determined and passionate about what they do."

Pure coincidence, no doubt, but some very impressive wines are made by women in Iberia. At Mar del Fades in sea-girt Galicia, Paula Fandino is intriguingly innovative in her approach, using new and old technologies to remarkable effect.

And deep in inland Spain, in Rueda, Sara Banuelos gives wonderful texture to white wines through ageing in concrete tulips, stainless steel and different-origin oak. In one of Rioja's most respected cellars, 144-year-old CVNE, technical director María Larrea raises a highly topical issue: "As a winemaker today, our challenges are to keep making great wines despite the adverse weather conditions. We must take care of our environment and carry out sustainable viticulture practice."

Her colleague Sara Juan, who's behind the wines of CVNE's new Bodega Bela in Ribera del Duero, surely shares that concern, alongside delighting in how winemaking is much more than her job.

"It’s part of my life and who I am," a life where she enjoys wine with friends and travel to other wineries.

While these and other women shine, there's a way to go yet to achieve equality in the wine world, but Leonor Freitas offers a wise final perspective: "There are good and bad female winemakers just as there are good and bad male winemakers."

Nine great bottles to try by women winemakers

No questions here, simply recommendations of wines made by the women featured above, and others with similar talent.This Is Local London: Bela Ribero del DueroBela Ribero del Duero (Image: Courtesy of the winemaker)

Sara Juan is a name to follow in Spain: her CVNE Bela Ribera del Duero (from £12.50, winedirect.co.uk, noblegrape.co.uk, other online sellers) is elegant and polished with delicious length, and temptingly priced for such an in-demand red-wine region.This Is Local London: Finca Constancia SeleccionFinca Constancia Seleccion (Image: Courtesy of the winemaker)

Finca Constancia Seleccion multi-grape red (£12, Ocado) exemplifies fellow countrywoman Beatriz Paniagua's emphasis on optimising fruit, fragrance, structure and complexity from a medley of terroirs. Oak and tannin are there, but controlled.

Leonor Freitas is behind wines that are the antithesis of many drinkers' definition of feminine. Casa Ermelinda Freitas Vinha do Fava Touriga Nacional 2021 (£11 mix-12, laithwaites.co.uk) is a big, bold expression of a familiar port grape, perfect for winter stews.

For a different, more delicate take on native Portuguese varieties, I'm happy again to recommend Mariana Vala Salvador's Textura da Estrela Tinto (£18.70, justerinis.com), even at the retail rather than in-bond price given last month.

This Is Local London: Beronia Rueda VerdejoBeronia Rueda Verdejo (Image: Courtesy of the producer)

To whites: Paula Frandino's Albarino (£16-£17, Tesco, chilternwines.com, londonendwines.com) keenly evokes the sea bordering north-west Spain, salty and mineral but still offering expected stone-fruit flavours.

Further south, Rueda is a dry, flat contrast but home to increasingly appealing white wines, herbal-nuanced from the native verdejo, more internationally familiar from sauvignon blanc. Sara Banuelos, who heads the Ramon Bilbao winery there, makes fine examples of both: try Ramon Bilbao verdejo (£12, sandhamswine.co.uk) now, and watch out for the sauvignon blanc, to which she adds an intriguingly verdejo-like edge.

In contrast, Beronia Rueda Verdejo (£9-£10, Waitrose, Ocado) from Marian Santamaria has a comfortingly familiar sauvignon hint in its crisp citrus flavour. But it remains very Spanish in character.This Is Local London: Villa Maria Sauvignon blancVilla Maria Sauvignon blanc (Image: Courtesy of the producer)

For truly classic modern sauvignon, it's over to New Zealand and Kathrin Jankowiec's Villa Maria Private Bin (£9-£10, Majestic, major supermarkets), grassy, fresh and squeaky clean.

For something entirely different, Argentine star Susana Balbo rejects convention with her Signature Barrel-Fermented Torres (£14 upwards, thewinesociety.com and independents), rich but with no oak dominance. Truly innovative.