Women on Top!

woman shoppingI’ve always suspected this, but here is proof at last. Jerry Shriver, in USA Today has reported that women make the decisions (at least when it comes to which wine to buy, and my guess it that it doesn’t stop at that). Apparently 8 ouf of 10 bottles sold in the US are the result of the buying decision of “la femme”. So while you are out with your better half stocking up the cellar, let him pick two bottles out of ten just to be kind to the statistics… simply nudge him, gently, in the direction of the bottle that you were going to pick anyway!

Here is the article by Tim Manners, Editor of www.reveries.com
Women & Wine. Women constitute “about 60 percent of the wine-drinking
audience and make 80 percent of the wine buying decisions,” so it’s not
surprising that vintners are trying to get in touch with their feminine
sides, as reported by Jerry Shriver in USA Today. What’s a little surprising
is how different are some of their approaches. On the one hand, there’s “a
$28 red blend called Seduction,” from O’Brien Family Vineyards.

SEDUCTION WINE

Available in a relatively
limited run of about 1,900 cases,” it is described as “rich, round, soft,
lush and complex … a voluptuous wine with sensual flavors and a velvet
kiss.”

The wine “comes wrapped in a red-translucent bag, because ‘women typically
buy wine to enjoy with friends and give as gifts, to make it part of a
special occasion,'” says owner Barton O’Brien, who created the label with
two other guys. Barton says he and his buds know what they’re doing because
they’ve seen how his wife and her friends regard wine. “They drink mostly
red wine, they’re sophisticated, intelligent and lively, and this is the
kind of wine that appeals to them,” he says. On the other hand, there’s
White Lie, from Beringer Blass Wine Estates, beringervineyards.com, touted “as the first in a
line of wines ‘designed by women for women.'” The line “will have
lower-than-normal calories, sugar and alcohol and will cost just under $10.”
That’s achieved by using younger grapes with less sugar in them.

Whether it’s possible a younger-grape wine tastes any good is anybody’s
guess, although Tracey Mason, one of White Lie’s creators, says it’s yummy:
“We are delivering a wine that tastes amazing, but still cheats a little.
You don’t have 14.5 percent alcohol; you have 9.8 percent, and it has 97
calories instead of 125.” As for the name, she says it was chosen “because
one way women use wine is as a conversation starter, and consumers responded
positively to the name.” The packaging includes corks imprinted with various
“white lies” (e.g., “It’s not you, it’s me”). “The package is definitely
skewed female,” says Stacey, “But it’s more edgy and creative than overly
girly.” White Lie launches in May with about 100,000 cases distributed
through grocery stores “in a dozen states,” with a national rollout expected
to follow.

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