Do men and women engage with wine differently? Perhaps this is a dangerous question in the era of heightened gender politics. However, it is also a sensible research question to ask, and the validity of the various theories doing the rounds might have profound commercial implications for those selling wine to the world’s 2 billion or so wine consumers, who divide roughly equally into the two genders.
There is a lot of generalisation and anecdotal theories about gender-related wine behaviour. In our first ever report of this kind, we have taken some of the most commonly-heard hypotheses, and used our extensive international consumer behaviour and attitudinal datasets collected from Vinitrac®, plus some specifically-designed research experiments, to see if there is any evidence to support or refute them:
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- Do women drink more wine than men?
- Do men spend more money on wine than women, with luxury wine more a male domain?
- Is wine more integrated into the everyday lives of women compared with men?
- Are men more knowledgeable about and confident with wine compared with women?
- Do men rely more on external validation of their wine choices compared with women?
- Is red wine for men and white / rosé wine for women?
- Is sparkling wine mainly a woman’s drink?
- Are women more likely to buy sustainable and ethical wines compared with men?
- Do men and women like different kinds of label designs?
- Do women favour female-led, -owned or -made wines when given the choice?
- Are women more conscious of moderating their alcohol consumption compared with men?
