Serious Grape: Women and Wine
On Fridays, Deb Harkness of Good Wine Under $20 drops by with Serious Grape.
Photograph from rolands.lakis on Flickr
An international study of more than 4,300 wine-drinking women has revealed the following: Women buy wine because they like how it tastes and it goes well with food.
Shocking, isn't it?
Apparently the wine pundits thought we bought wine because it was fashionable and good for our health. Instead, they discovered that in the United Kingdom women buy eight out of ten bottles of wine purchased—and what they care about is taste and price. Robert Beynat, a spokesman for the world's largest wine exhibition and one of the partners involved in the research, VinExpo, commented as following on the study's results: "The message for wine marketers is clear: cherchez la femme if you want to sell."
Cherchez la femme? You've got to be kidding.
I don't know about you, but I find the whole notion that you have to beware of women wine consumers because we don't buy wine as a fashion accessory or a diet aid a bit demeaning. I'm a woman who buys wine, and I've never tried to match it to my shoes. So what are they so worried about? Let's look at the results and see.
Women in France, Germany, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S. took part in the survey. The results for women in the U.K. reveal that women 55 percent of women prefer red wine to white wine, a whopping 91 percent associate drinking wine with meals, and 33 percent drink wine in the bathtub. nine out of ten bottles of wine purchased by women come from supermarkets and shops that specialize in wine. In other words, women buy and consume wine just like men—with the possible exception of the bathtub.
What's the wine industry to do, now that they know that women aren't a specialized market?
Well, I'm hoping the study's findings makes executives think twice before they pay for an insulting advertising campaign directed at women that makes us out to be clueless, waistline-obsessed wine-swilling divas. I hope we see less cutesy wine labels with cuddly animals. And I fervently pray that the next time I order the wine in a restaurant, I'm the one offered a taste of it, instead of the waiter pouring it into the glass belonging to the man at the table. And I really hope this is the last study of this kind I see.
But all is not lost. The best news was that an average of 44 percent of women surveyed across the world felt confident about buying wine, leaving Mr. Beynat to conclude that "The role of women in wine buying and the depth of their knowledge has been vastly underestimated."
Sadly, I don't find that shocking at all. Do you?
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20 Comments:
'Cherchez la femme" doesn't mean 'beware of the woman' or 'look out for the woman." It means "look for" or "seek out" or "search for the woman." The article isn't warning marketers to be worried. They're saying that marketers who want to sell are going to have to fight for female consumers.
lg7788a at 11:37AM on 04/03/09
No, we drink the blood of hideously stupid and painfully patronizing wine spokesmen when we want to be fashionable.
Deb07 at 11:59AM on 04/03/09
I don't care if they are finally aware of women's buying power or not...this is as patronizing as it gets. Buying wine because it's fashionable...idiots.
Deb07 at 12:02PM on 04/03/09
@lg7788 - I took it that way too. More like "target women" than "worry about women"
Overall I'm not really surprised by the findings. As the target audience (different geographics) I concurr with the conclusions that ""The role of women in wine buying and the depth of their knowledge has been vastly underestimated."
Cheers Ladies and gentlemen! I'll be purchasing a pinot noir for this evening... :D Christel
hungrychristel at 12:09PM on 04/03/09
I'm sure that out of 33 percent of women, at least half drink wine in the bathtub because movies say we should.
And the past three times I was at an upscale restaurant, the initial taste of the bottle was offered to a women, even with two other men at the table.
amanda0730 at 1:07PM on 04/03/09
@amanda - I was always taught that the customer that "verbally orders" the wine is presented the bottle, did she order it? Out of curiousity.
hungrychristel at 1:11PM on 04/03/09
Serious Gripe:
Now that 44% feel confident about buying wine, maybe they should learn how to properly hold the wine glass. Just sayin'.
gnossos at 1:58PM on 04/03/09
Properly hold the wine glass? Wow...don't come over to my house. I have those wine glasses that don't even have a stem on them...just the top part. Why does wine need to be unapproachable and have rules? Just drink it.
jcrisco at 2:46PM on 04/03/09
Wine marketers can "cherchent" me all they want. I am willing to sample any wine that comes by way. I will make an informed judgment about its quality, and then decide whether or not I will buy it.
bitchinlifestyle at 3:24PM on 04/03/09
Last year, the British wine magazine Decanter had a piece wondering where all the women wine collectors were. Not women wine drinkers, mind you, it noted that plenty of them are out there, but collectors with a cellar and a en primeur addiction. The article's point was that so much of wine collecting is full of dudes with a macho, "check out my magnum of Screaming Eagle" attitude that it turns off ladies with a good palate and an interest in exploring wine. I enjoy talking about a wine's history and what makes it good far more than I enjoy hearing someone brag about the vintages he's tried. I don't think I'm the only wine collecting woman who feels that way.
mslaas at 3:27PM on 04/03/09
Completely non-shocking. As is the fact that I hate wine bottles with cutesy names or pictures on them. In general, I typically avoid even picking those up because I figure they are *trying* to market and probably aren't relying on their wine being good. So why bother spending my money on them?
And when did it become such a shock that women like wine and are knowledgable? I introduced my husband to wine... I'm generally the wine expert in our house, though he always gets offered the taste when at a restaurant (grrr - and perhaps this is leftover whatever in the midwest?). He introduced me to beers that are worthwhile to drink. A good trade off, I figure.
Mhlia at 3:34PM on 04/03/09
@mslaas - I agree! Plus, I can't afford to collect the way I'd like to. I was fortunate that the person who taught me about wines stressed drinking (and collecting) what you like and to be adventurous. Not to just follow Parker or the wine mags and to think twice about paying for a "vintage" or name.
Mhlia at 3:37PM on 04/03/09
Unfortunately, there are still many many companies that are making billions of dollars a year putting out horrible wine in 'fashionable' packaging. There are so many crap brands that spend 95% of their budget on the marketing and packaging and whatever is leftover goes into the wine making (barefoot, yellowtail, bella serra..... ). One of the worst offenders is Gallo. They are notorious for buying up quality wineries and turning them into factories that churn out tons of crap (then also taking the wine from one winery and repackaging it under multiple brand names). One of their most recent acquisitions was the Alamos brand, which was hugely disappointing to me. Alamos has been at the forefront of quality, affordable Argentinian wine for years. They were owned by the Catena family who makes some of the most highly acclaimed wines coming out of Argentina. Now the brand is going to turn into another shelf filler for grocery chains that have no clue what good wine is. The general public just needs to overcome its fear of wine (and 'wine people'). If people actually asked for help more often when picking out wines, they would find wines that would blow the doors off of the standard store brands for the same price or lower. I guess this study just proves that women aren't swayed by gimmicks as often as men are.
jboylan at 9:52PM on 04/03/09
@jboylan- thanks for the heads up about Alamos. Catena is one of my favorite affordable producers, so I'm horrified. Do you happen to know if the family still runs their higher-end lines?
bialy at 10:56PM on 04/03/09
I have to reiterate what the first commenter said: "cherchez la femme" does NOT mean "beware of the woman." I don't really see how these findings are demeaning.
crk71 at 8:46AM on 04/04/09
I can totally agree with this. If I have to explain one more time that I don't like white wine, and yes, that is compatible with being a woman...ugh.
I drink wine because I like the taste, and how it complements my food. I am not going to drink something because it's fashionable, that's not to say that I am going to quit wearing painful beautiful shoes. Clearly, this is where the dichotomy lies.
Geeka at 8:56AM on 04/04/09
I hate to see articles/studies surprised at the discovery of yet another way in which women exercise their purchasing power. Specially in the 21st century. Why is the first reaction a surprise? Aside from cosmetics, women spend money in pretty much the same things that men do....wouldn't you agree?
asg749d at 9:42AM on 04/04/09
@jboylan - you make a good point about the crap wines with appealing packaging. But I look at it this way:
Good-on-em if they can make sales based on "fashion" but at least the smart wine-os know how to pick'em....MORE FOR US! haha
hungrychristel at 10:27AM on 04/06/09
Well, I guess my take would be that if the wine business suddenly decides to target market women, we'll get some pretty bad packaging and marketing - when I went to buy my Subaru outback wagon, the salesman looked at me, and said, "So, what color car are you looking for?" - as if that were my primary consideration. So, I guess we can look for more "cute" or "fashionable" labels and bottles, and less emphasis on quality, taste, or value. Oh, and yes, while I did care what color my car would be, once I found one with the features I wanted, they made it clear that the deal would only go if I gave up the blue car I had noticed, and accept a green mist (the same color as 90% of the outback wagons out there) instead. Served me right for saying color wasn't my first consideration, I guess. I say men care about the color of their cars, too, or there wouldn't be so many red sports cars.
renewbee at 3:53AM on 04/08/09
As a woman who buys wine because it tastes good (and is comfortable selecting wines solo), I am a bit appalled to find out that wine marketing had deemed women more interested in cute labels and looking chic. My wine glass is not an accessory. But, at least it sounds like the market researcher made the correct inferences from the survey, and hopefully female drinkers won't be viewed the same way going forward.
However, I must stick up for NW servers - every single time I have ordered wine in the presence of a man, I have been offered the taste.
peachypear at 2:03PM on 04/08/09