Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/51841
MANAGEMENT According to information posted on the Wine Institute's website, women "represent a huge mar- ket with great purchasing power that until recently has been over- looked." Wine Institute also points out that rather than being influenced by wine ratings, women tend to judge the entire product: wine quality, label design, bottle shape and phi- losophy of the winery. EXAGGERATED DIFFERENCES While the evidence seems pret- ty clear that vinous Venus is not always in alignment with Mars, is it possible that sometimes the dif- ferences get exaggerated? Erica Mandl, winemaker at Korbel Cham- pagne Cellars in Sonoma County, cautioned about going overboard when speculating about gender dis- tinctions. "People are complex entities displaying traits created by myri- ad factors including experiences, genetics, opportunities, luck (good or bad), and, yes, even gender," she said. "I believe that organizing groups of people who share a sin- gle trait – in this case gender – can be helpful in compiling some statis- tical data or analyzing trends. The danger comes when we treat these generalizations as absolute truths." There is certainly a segment of the wine trade that bases market- ing campaigns on gender general- izations. One can only imagine the focus group discussions behind the decision to target the "dumb blonde" segment of women wine buyers. We've all noticed the labels: Little Black Dress, White Lie, Girls Night Out, Happy Bitch, and so on. Cute? Maybe, but is this effective marketing? Not everyone thinks so. "The wine industry doesn't tend to do market research before creat- ing a product, so we end up with these silly, unsophisticated prod- ucts like Little Black Dress," grum- bled Dixie Huey, whose company, Trellis Wine Consulting, is based in Portland, Ore. "It's almost making fun of women instead of making them feel great." Another Portland wine expert agreed. "I 've seen corporate brands that try to dumb it down for the women's market," said Jody Ruff-Harcourt, wine steward for the Fred Meyer store chain. "Some- body just made a wine called 'Girly Girl.' I didn't even want to taste it. I would never put that on my shelf. Even if they don't have a palate, women are smart enough to ask questions. They don't buy the frilly stuff." "I've even seen a label with women's breasts on it," Mulas said. "I appreciate the claim that (the winery) is raising awareness of women's breast health, but when they say the target audience is women, all I can answer is – really? I think they have the wrong audi- ence, because the women I know aren't actually that eager to look at a pair of breasts on the wine label." There will always be buyers for these wines, Brosterman said, but she's not one of them. "As I always say, I don't mind shaving with a pink Bic razor, but I don't want to drink the Virginia Slims of wine." Marguerite Thomas is a Baltimore- based journalist and photographer who contributes wine-related arti- cles to several national and inter- national publications. She is the author of the books "Wineries of the Eastern States" and "Visiting East Coast Wineries." Comments? Please e-mail us at feedback@vwm-online.com. 2011 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S WINE COMPETITION SWEEPSTAKES WINNERS The competition was judged exclusively by female wine professionals. Entries included wines made by both women and men. Best of Show Calcareous Vineyard, 2008 Tres Violet Paso Robles AVA Best Red Calcareous Vineyard, 2008 Tres Violet Best White Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cold Creek Riesling Best Rosé/Blush Tassel Ridge Winery, NV Pink Catawba Best Dessert/Late Harvest Hernder Estate Wines, 2007 Vidal Ice Wine Best Sparkling Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards, NV Blanc de Noir Paso Robles AVA Columbia Valley AVA America (country appellation) Niagara Peninsula DVA Los Carneros AVA $38 $38 $15 $13 $59.95 $20 For a complete listing of medal winners and competition judges, see www.vwm-online.com/wine_competitions/international_womens/results.asp. WWW.VWM-ONLINE.COM JAN - FEB 2012 VINEYARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT 129