Ladygarden Wines: Kelly Pearson's Label Built Around Women in Wine
Ladygarden Wines, based in Geelong, Victoria, is the business Kelly (KP) Pearson founded, owns and makes wine for. Its official website sets out a clear idea at the centre of everything the label…
Ladygarden Wines, based in Geelong, Victoria, is the business Kelly (KP) Pearson founded, owns and makes wine for. Its official website sets out a clear idea at the centre of everything the label does: celebrating women in wine, and building a range around that purpose.
Pearson makes much of the Ladygarden wine herself, drawing on fruit from growers across Victoria and South Australia. Alongside her own work, she commissions female 'partners in wine' — other women winemakers from around Australia — to produce region-specific wines bottled under the Ladygarden brand. The result is a curated range that stretches across varieties and regions, from Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay through to Shiraz and a Pétillant Naturel, sourced from areas including the Geelong region and the Limestone Coast.
That approach grows out of a long career in the wine industry. Pearson spent much of it making wine for others before turning her full attention to her own label. She studied at the University of Adelaide and is based in Newtown, a suburb of Geelong, and her experience across larger-scale winemaking informs how Ladygarden is put together today.
The website also describes how Pearson wants the label to serve the wider wine community. She says Ladygarden aims to give back through scholarships for women studying viticulture and winemaking, internships and work experience placements, and winemaking, business and sales support. It is a model that connects the wines in the bottle to the people Pearson wants to see move into the industry behind them.
Pearson has also described being in a next phase for Ladygarden, including running a survey to understand how women engage with wine and what makes wine more approachable and inclusive. It points to where she sees the opportunity for the label: a range made by women, for a community of drinkers she wants to bring closer to wine.