Remembering an Exemplary Woman in Wine
Many followers and clients of ours know us as a supporter of women winemakers and, overall, women in wine. It is with deep sadness that we mourn the loss of the woman who was a pillar to forming our company’s mission and values: Helen Gallo Bryan, who recently passed away from ovarian cancer.
Despite several months since her unexpected passing, Helen’s presence, support and words of encouragement are still alive and with us. It is a testament to Helen’s constant passion and commitment throughout her professional life not only to the world of small production, authentic wines, but also to showing how one’s enjoyment of wine can spread joy and build community.
Helen’s closing remarks when she moderated a VeroTalk with women winemakers 1 year after Covid lockdowns summarizes her passion in wine.
Get to Know This Wonder Woman of Wine
Helen was a true New Englander, she was raised and lived all her life there, except for study and work opportunities which involved travel abroad. When our founder, Sheila Donohue, first met Helen in person, it was at a wine trade event in New York in February 2017 when the New England Patriots were playing in the Superbowl: to brave leaving Patriot-land to a competitor’s turf on that big day which showed her commitment to the wine profession, (BTW the Patriots won, to Helen’s delight).
She came from a big family with solid traditions and values, one of which was tied to Saint Anselm College where she was active in fundraising and other initiatives, for which her siblings are now carrying the torch. Saint Anselm honored Helen’s legacy in this tribute which encapsulates our fascination and admiration for this great woman, saying “Her 42-year career in the wine industry was filled with adventures, challenges and personal growth, and fostered her zest for traveling and exploring new cultures. Helen’s work ethic and core values inspired all who worked with her.”
Helen’s long time contribution to the wine industry in the US resulted in numerous awards, recognitions and articles. She was particularly passionate about Italian wine, which led to her receiving a Gold Award from the Italian Trade Commission in 2009 for “her longtime commitment and contribution to the appreciation of Italian wine in the United States.“
In additional to Helen making inroads in the US wine industry, especially in New England, Helen was a generous supporter of charities. The culmination of her passion for both is when she became a founding board member of Boston University’s Elizabeth Bishop Wine Resource Center, for which she was spotlighted in this “She Gives Boston” article
Helen here in good company with Vero women winemakers including La Maliosa, Vigna Petrussa, Ojai Pacific View and Bugno Martino.
An Advocate Not Only for Women but Also for Small Wine Producers
Even during work related activities, her love for her family, including her husband and 2 sons, came out often and easily in conversation. Like during the VeroTalk we had with women winemakers 1 year after Covid lockdowns. Helen volunteered to moderate this VeroTalk which chronicled these 4 women-owned wineries 1 year after we had spoken with them right at the beginning of the Covid lockdowns in March 2020 at our first ever VeroTalk.
Helen’s questions were focused more on these women’s lives than their jobs. This 360 degree viewpoint of life was reflected in all of Helen’s activities and reflections. In fact, Helen’s opening remarks at this VeroTalk stating “the wine industry is really a business built on connections and relationships. So what do you do when that is limited?”. As soon as the women started to talk about the impact of Covid and its lockdowns on women’s lives and on their children’s, Helen chimed it. Her family was ever present and top of mind in her thoughts and actions. Helen also asked these women winemakers the impact of Covid on the workers. This showed her gift of empathy which touched our lives and made us feel loved by her.
You could understand why she was drawn to work in wine, and focusing her career on high quality wines made by people farming their own lands and driven by passion. She had an urge to know everything that was behind the glass of wine. For example, the questions she asked during this VeroTalk went beyond wine: she probed to know everything, even the impact to workers. As a result, she created engaging conversation and built community among the women talking. At one point, Antonella Manuli of La Maliosa cited her concern of the virtual detachment resulting from Covid with people forgetting about their sense of smell, and Helen immediately spoke up, citing her love of walking through vineyards, smelling the soil and nature all around. As Helen herself once wrote, “I always dug further to know the winery history, politics, regional food, and lore, etc., etc. I wanted to convey a sense of place in a different way other than soil types or trellising.”
Helen was particularly a proponent of small wineries, many of whom are run by families. This was evident, for example, by her questions during the VeroTalk which were pointed specifically towards the impact of Covid on small producers. More importantly, after Helen’s passing in August, much of the outpouring of condolences came from the wine producers that she supported over her long career in wine. After all, she was the “front line” of the producer in the US market, to promote and build awareness and appreciation of their well made, yet lesser known, wines.
Helen’s Work of Passion Continues
This picture combines both the joy that Helen got from meeting and connecting with small family wine producers and as well as her love of New England and the sea.
We had the honor and pleasure of having Helen Gallo collaborate with us. Not only did she believe in our mission, she was a strong advocate of it and passed the word along to family, friends and business connections about what we do, saying, “We at Vero have been working hard to further develop the category of scarce, small-production, sustainably made, authentic wines, olive oils, and foods from around the world.”
Helen really ‘got’ and embraced the mission of Vero, and helped to shape it as well, working together with our founder, Sheila Donohue, and our producers and clients and advocates. She was one of Sheila’s role models when she was contemplating a move from banking and technology into the wine industry. Helen was one of very few women wine business leaders in the US 10 years ago when Sheila first got to know her. Helen was a professional in all senses of the word and took her job and her relationships very seriously. She was a super connector, on both a personal and professional level.
Numerous articles were written about Helen and her work together with Vero, like this one in Edible Boston which interviewed “natural wine professionals” around Boston. “Vero is forging a community: women supporting women, connecting passion from the winemaker to the importer to the customer” is how she described what we do.
She went on to give examples, including mentioning the patented Metodo Corino, created by Antonella Manuli of La Maliosa and Lorenzo Corino, 5th of 6th generation of Case Corini, calling it “a back-to-basics farming initiative that focuses on regenerative farming and the health of the environment, avoiding anything that counters the natural process of obtaining and maturing wines—essentially the foundation of natural winemaking.”
What were her favorite wines? Well, that’s like asking a mother who her favorite child is... but we do have some insight into what were her “go-tos” as well as her “treats.” She had practical selections of good everyday wines, like Dolcetto, that go with “lighter fare” and many pasta dishes. She had a soft spot for Lugana white wine, and a good Barbera d’Asti and Rosso di Toscana Sangiovese as well. Naturally, she went for the women winemakers’ wines, with some of her favs being La Maliosa’s Tarconte, a volcanic Sangiovese and Vigna Petrussa’s Schiopettino di Prepotto Riserva, a carefully crafted wine that second generation woman winemaker Hilde only makes during the “good years.”
Ultimately, Helen loved discovery and variety, of tasting and enjoying different wines, as long as they were authentic and high quality wines.
Let’s Help Beat Ovarian Cancer
Helen took wellness as a priority in all senses: her own health and the health of relationships all around her. Helen was open about her struggle with cancer. She showed strength and courage through her battle these past 6 years.
It seemed like she could conquer it and everything around her. But alas, she could not beat it. Her wish to us is to help find a cure to ovarian cancer. Let’s unite as a community and donate to the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance, and celebrate the life of this woman who was the salt of the earth!