A growing number of women are making their mark on the wine scene. Raise a glass with Sam Wylie-Harris' selection of six of the best.

Tractor-driving, grape-stomping, shifting heavy baskets and hands stained from harvesting grapes are often thought of as the reserve of male vintners - but more and more women are spending their time tending to vines and carving out a career in wine.

Of course, it helps if you're born into a winemaking family with a long history of grape growing, but with greater opportunities to enter this historically male-dominated industry - including studying viticulture and oenology, to wine marketing and sales - a growing number of women are making their mark the scene and shaping the way we drink.

And while Champagne has always had its leading ladies, such as Lily Bollinger and Madame Clicquot, who've been inspirational to so many generations (who doesn't dream of holding the key to a champagne house and bathing in bubbles?), a new wave of rising stars are opening cellar doors, breaking barriers and paving the way for future female winemakers.

To mark International Women's Day this March 8, here are six top drops by female winemakers to try now...

1. The Search Grenache Blanc Marsanne, Roussanne 2017, Voor Paardeberg, South Africa (£9.49, Waitrose)

As well as having her signature wine range - Trizanne Signature Wines - South African winemaker Trizanne Barnard crafts wines under The Search label, and this deftly blended white brings together three Rhone Valley grapes for a lively frame of floral, peachy, herby aromatics, with fresh minerality complementing attractive peach flavours and a stone fruit richness on the finish.

2. McPherson The Full Fifteen 2017, South Eastern Australia (£9.99, Laithwaite's)

Andrew McPherson's head winemaker, Jo Nash, has an armload of medals and has been cited as one of Australia's most highly-regarded young winemakers. A crowd pleasing, lip-smacking red that packs a punch at 15% abv, this cabernet-based blend is as velvety smooth as it is dense, with subtle oak, sweet spice and black forest fruits driving the long, satisfying finish.

3. Craft 3 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2018, New Zealand (£11, Marks & Spencer stores, or by the case online)

M&S has three female winemakers, one of whom has a passion for creating exceptional Kiwi sauvignon blanc. A collaboration between wine experts Jeneve Williams and Yves Fourcade to source the finest fruit from vineyards in Marlborough's Awatere and Wairau sub-regions, this is a fine example of their work. Leafy, grassy aromas, grapefruit, passion fruit and wild herbs mark this bright, zesty white, buoyed by a brilliantly fresh finish.

4. Peyrassol Rose 2017, Cotes de Provence, France (£13.99, Majestic)

Soon to be featured in their Winemaker Series, this gorgeous rose is one of the stars of Majestic's first female additions to the range, which focuses on 'turning winemakers into heroes'. Made by Hermine de Clermont Tonnerre, cellar master at Peyrassol, the label will have her picture on the front with a little snapshot on the back about the wine and region. Beautifully fresh and balanced, we're drawn to its peachy edge, hints of delicate summer berry fruits and crisp acidity.

5. Manoella Wine and Soul 2015, Douro, Portugal (£18.95, Corney & Barrow)

The Douro is a treasure trove for characterful reds, and there's lots to love about this entry-level wine from world-class winemaker Sandra Tavares, who cut her teeth at her parents' Lisbon estate at Quinta da Chocapalha. In 2001, she started her own winery from scratch with husband Jorge - Wine & Soul in the Douro Valley. Gloriously rich yet elegant, it's immediately engaging with its beguiling bouquet of violets and kirsch, leading to ribbons of spice-edged blueberry and plummy fruit, with surprising minerality on the long, luxurious finish.

6. CVNE Rioja Reserva Imperial 2014, Spain (£24.99, Majestic)

A Decanter gold medal-winner that comes highly recommended, Maria Larrea is one of Spain's top female winemakers and chief winemaker at the famous CVNE Rioja estate, where the majority of her team are women. This wine's hallmark is its powerfully aromatic, densely flavoured fruit, with bursts of savoury mulberry mingling with vanilla-laced fleshy blackcurrants, sweet spice, the teeniest hint of liquorice and a silky smooth long, rounded finish that just keeps on giving.