What do women want? Chocolate, diamonds, true love and a flat stomach—not necessarily in that order. Can I go home now?
OK, just kidding (kinda). I’m actually here to talk about wine. (“Champagne?” you ask, hopefully, “Champagne goes well with diamonds…”) No, not exactly that either.
Wine. Red, white or pink. Sparkling or still. According to a 2005 study conducted by consumer research experts Yankelovich for the Wine Institute, women buy the majority of wine in this country—and not just “what’ll we have with dinner?” wine. Women, it turns out, are responsible for a much higher percentage of wine purchases than previously believed. In fact, women account for about 60 percent of wine purchases for all key price points, from popular premium (less than $6 per bottle) to ultra-premium (more than $15).
So why, then, are most heralded wine critics and competition judging panels predominantly male? (Settle down. There’s no insidious conspiracy theory about to be exposed.) The general consensus is simply that the demographic shift in wine buying trends happened too quickly for the industry to keep pace.
“Judging isn’t for everybody,” says Rebecca Murphy, whose wine industry credits include being the first female wine steward in Texas (perhaps in the United States, in 1972); writing for the Dallas Morning News, Wine Review Online and contributing to The Oxford Companion to Wine (third edition) and The World Atlas of Wine (sixth edition); and founding the Dallas Morning News Wine Competition. “Being knowledgeable sometimes isn’t enough. You need a certain temperament, and the pace can be difficult.
“But I can also tell you that, once you’ve been asked to judge and carried yourself well—basically proved you can do it—you’ll be asked to judge again.”
Working together
Last March, Murphy served as head judge for the first-ever National Women’s Wine Competition in Santa Rosa. The brainchild of Lea Pierce and De-Anna Alba of Wine Country Wordsmiths (“selling wine with words” boasts the website) and event coordinator Judith Oppenheimer, the premise behind the judging was simple. “The idea came to me like a bolt of lightning during a conversation I was having about wine competitions in general,” says Pierce. “My idea was to use only women judges.
“If you look at all the other great wine competitions—Dallas, Los Angeles, Indiana—there’s a maximum of only about 30 percent women on the judging panels. I thought that skew seemed odd, given the statistics about how much wine is bought by women.”
Murphy adds, “When I heard about [the competition], I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it first. It’s an idea that was waiting to be born.
“There’s been a lot of industry discussion in recent years about marketing to women. A lot of complaints and observations have been that most critics and judges are still men—and, more than that, men who prefer a certain type of wine. What about those people, men and women, who don’t particularly like that style of wine? Who’s speaking for us?”
From here on out, women will be increasingly speaking for themselves. Next year’s National Women’s Wine Competition (scheduled for March 16-19 in Santa Rosa) will open with seminars and panel discussions for judges. The added educational element is being designed to help qualified women who’ve never judged before get up to speed.
“We all want to learn more,” says Pierce. “That’s the thing about the wine industry: Everyone feels they can never know enough; there’s always more information out there.”
The results are in
“We weren’t expecting anything specific, results-wise,” Pierce continues. “It was more like, ‘Let’s see what happens!’”
What happened was four times the number of expected entries (including for its competition-within-a-competition, the Women’s Winemaker Challenge), immediate demand for an international component (it will be added at next year’s competition) and attention from wine press around the world, which either embraced the concept enthusiastically or dismissed it as a marketing ploy.
The results, according to Pierce, “actually were quite a bit different” from the year’s other major competitions. But the even bigger news, it seems, was the “clear camaraderie on the panels.”
“Decisions were made by consensus, not debate,” explains Tres Sabores winemaker Julie Johnson, who was a judge. “It was a real departure from other competitions I’ve been involved with.”
One of the beneficiaries of all that love was Daisy Damskey, co-winemaker along with her husband, Kerry (read his profile, “Right Place, Right Time,” on page 49), of the couple’s Palmeri Wines. Their 2002 Stagecoach Cabernet Sauvignon-Syrah blend won the general competition sweepstakes for red wine and was awarded the Judge’s Choice Award (think Best in Show) following a unanimous 30 out of 30 on the first round of voting. “I just hope whatever we did right, we can keep doing it!” she laughs.
“When we were called and asked to enter,” Damskey remembers, “we were instantly excited about the concept. It acknowledges women as buyers—reduces the stereotype of women buying grocery store wine only. Women are just as astute when it comes to seeking out wine of quality. The competition opened the door for that conversation.”
Supertasters
There’s been a lot of talk over the years about the difference in palate between men and women. In the early 1990s, however, scientists took the discussion one step further, identifying and naming a natural phenomenon in which some individuals have more taste buds than others, thereby possessing an increased sensitivity to certain flavor aspects. Dubbed “supertasters,” these individuals tend to have a heightened aversion to bitterness, including some of the flavors found in coffee and certain alcoholic beverages (including highly tannic wines) and a preference for sweeter fare.
Statistically, women are more likely to be supertasters than are men (caveat: supertasters are also more likely to be Asian, African or South American, regardless of gender). “This information has been warped into, ‘Women prefer sweet,’” says Barbara Insel, managing director of Napa-based MKF Research, a leader in wine industry trend spotting.
“I think most critics are supertasters,” she continues, “meaning they should, in theory, prefer California-style wines over French-style wines. But it’s somewhat degrading to assume the tastes of any large population group can be so easily summarized.”
Rebecca Murphy weighs in: “Even though women are more likely to be supertasters, a lot of women who are professionals in the wine industry can certainly develop an appreciation of, and then a taste for, the flavors of even the more bitter or tannic wines. They’re just starting from a more bitter-sensitive palate.”
“I believe it’s a misnomer that there’s a gender difference,” says Damskey. “I believe both men and women respond to well-balanced, handcrafted wines. Everyone knows great wine when they taste it.
“And all the great winemakers I’ve known—men and women—have an intuitive gift for knowing flavors and aromas and how to combine them; they have an artist’s vision and a scientist’s temperament.”
Project Genome
Leslie Joseph is vice president of consumer research and consumer affairs for Constellation Wines U.S., the American wine arm of Constellation Brands, which is the largest wine producer in the world, representing slightly more than four percent of total global wine production (approximately 110 million 9-liter cases annually). In 2005, Constellation Wines undertook a research project that dramatically changed the way wine consumers are perceived by the industry and how wine is marketed to them.
“Project Genome was the largest-ever study of premium wine buyers,” she explains. “We conducted an online poll of more than 3,500 wine consumers who’d made a premium wine purchase in the last three months, asking questions not only about their wine preferences, but also about their lifestyle and attitudes. We found there are six different types of wine consumer, and each has its own buying habits.”
Here’s how those categories break down:
• Enthusiasts: 12 percent of total and 60 percent female; they love wine and are fairly knowledgeable about it; they enjoy researching and sharing wine as well as the ceremony of opening and serving wine.
• Image Seekers: 20 percent of total and 64 percent male; typically younger, they’re looking for the new and trendy as opposed to the old standbys; they may be insecure about making the “right” choice and often fall back on cult favorites with the right reputation.
• Savvy Shoppers: 15 percent of total and 57 percent female; they love to shop—and not just for wine; they’re willing to be adventurous and, though fairly loyal to a group of brands, are willing to try new brands if they perceive it as a good value for the money.
• Traditionalists: 16 percent of total and 68 percent female; they tend to be older and more stable in their lives and community; they find comfort in the tried-and-true, well-established wine producers and rarely venture far afield.
• Satisfied Sippers: 14 percent of total and 74 percent female; not very knowledgeable about wine but don’t really care; they typically buy and drink one brand and varietal and aren’t curious about more choices; 48 percent of this group has had one or more glasses of White Zinfandel in the last month.
• The Overwhelmed: 23 percent of total and 70 percent female; they don’t feel comfortable choosing wine in stores or ordering wine in restaurants; they’re very receptive to advice from wine stewards and waitstaff; they tend not to remember brand names and select wines with label art that fits the occasion (casual for a picnic, for example); 38 percent of this group has had one or more glasses of White Zinfandel in the last month.
“When we started Project Genome, it was with the intention of conducting one big study that would help us, those companies we consult—and even our competitors—to really identify and understand what’s going on in the marketplace,” says Joseph. “Now, when we talk about brand targeting, we talk about the six types of wine consumers instead of just limiting the discussion to age or gender.”
Personal preferences
In 2003, wine educator Leslie Sbrocco published Wine for Women: A Guide to Buying, Pairing and Sharing Wine (Morrow Cookbooks), a basic primer for choosing and enjoying wine. Despite initial misgivings that the title caused among many critics, her no-nonsense approach and conversational style took much of the mystery out of wine buying for readers of both genders, and she was rewarded with a best seller.
Likewise, more than a few wines have suffered industry backlash after being marketed as “for women.” Beringer, for example, has become something of an oenophile whipping boy because of its White Zinfandel, White Merlot and (more recently) Sparkling White Zin (dubbed “Pink,” and released to celebrate the winery’s 20th year as a pink wine producer), all of which regularly run the snob-o-meter into the red despite meeting with sales success and sometimes-fanatical consumer loyalty.
But maybe Beringer is on to something. Maybe—just maybe—all those Satisfied Sippers have the right idea. Or maybe not.
“Women are more likely to drink White Zinfandel, but they drink a lot of other varietals, too,” says Joseph. “It’s our job to reach out to all the different types of wine consumers and try to meet all their different needs. It’s tricky, because it’s not a one-size-fits-all proposition.”
And that, in a nutshell, is what bothers so many women wine lovers, who feel frustrated by the blind popularity of White Zinfandel or pandered to by advertising campaigns like Constellation’s Arbor Mist, which hones in quickly on “gal pal” and “couple-dom” vibes. Joseph agrees that Arbor Mist has “a female skew,” and laughingly doubts whether many men will be pouring the fruit-flavored wine at a poker game—although I think that could make for a great TV spot.
“Marketing people may tell you they’re missing certain markets because of cultural or generational differences, and that they’re trying to make up for that with targeted messages. But I haven’t seen anyone do a very good job of it,” says Murphy. “Most of it that I’ve seen has been pretty lame. I find it offensive, to tell the truth.”
“It can’t be categorized so neatly,” agrees Insel. “Women may be buying the wine, but they’re drinking with meals, in social situations and in groups of friends.
“The growth in wine consumption is more about young men drinking wine in response to young women, who are shunning beer’s raunchier image in favor of wine, which they perceive as more sophisticated and civilized. The truth is, wine consumption varies more by generation and social-cultural segment than by gender.”
So where does that leave us? What do women want?
Ultimately, women want what everyone should want: to be treated like savvy consumers with discerning palates. We want to drink the wine we enjoy, regardless of marketing trends or ratings scales. Barbara Insel recalls a favorite quote: “Wine is for pleasure. You drink what you like with whatever you like to eat.” I think we can all agree with that.
