Why A Wine Club Just for Women? Men!

WomanI’m not a woman. So maybe I’m not physically equipped to understand the significance of the "First web community for women who love wine, travel and the best of everything."

Nevertheless, I’m going to give it a shot.

Karen MacNeil, one of America’s most important wine authorities explains the new website, womenwine.com, this way:

"As they do with fashion, food and design, women
have a special sensibility when it comes to wine. Part of learning
about wine is experiencing it first hand and while there are lots of
ways to do that, Women & Wine(TM) combines the best components:
great wines with unforgettable experiences."

I guess what I’m looking for here, then, is an understanding of that "special sensibility". I worked with one woman winemaker/winery owner who was convince that women make better winemakers because they are emotionally better equipped to nurture. While that always sounded right to me in a metaphysical kind of way, I’ve always had that distinctively male quality that demands you "show me."

Of course now we are getting into that sometimes nasty area of stereotypes. As a marketer, that area can mean bread and butter. We don’t call them stereotypes, however, when we think about marketing wine to a particular demographic. We call it "tendencies".

Women clearly have tendencies when it comes to wine drinking and wine buying. One is that women tend to do most of the grocery store wine buying. They also tend to view wine more than men do as simply an alcoholic drink, rather than as men are more likely to see wine, as a symbol or self defining part of their accomplished life.

Of course, womenwine.com is a pure marketing exercise in the same way that Beringer’s new wine for women, "White Lie" has nothing else at its heart beyond a new revenue stream.

But let’s take this new woman and wine venture on its face and ask, what is it about the female experience that suggests they need their own wine website/clubhouse? Julie Brosterman, founder of Womenwine.com I think answers my question when she explains in her press release, "Traditionally, the world of wine — from making
and teaching about wine, to buying wine in stores and restaurants —
has been male dominated, a ‘men’s thing’, but today women make 60% of
all wine purchases and account for over 50% of all wine consumption in
the U.S.," she adds. "http://www.womenwine.com/ will help women find
their own voice when it comes to wine and become smarter wine
consumers. The site provides a connection for women who share a passion
for wine and travel."

Men. It’s because of men that women need their own wine club. Being a man who has for nearly two decades attempted to dominate the making and teaching of wine, I suppose I understand Ms. Brosterman’s point…to a degree. I just still don’t understand what there is about wine and the wine experience that will be different when explored by the opposite sex. I remain excited to discover this.

Posted In: Wine News

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28 Responses

  1. Barbara - October 28, 2005

    In my experience I have found many women tend to feel intimidated around men and wine.

  2. Steve-o - October 28, 2005

    I appreciate that, and that’s a shame – and definitely something that should somehow be corrected. But I still don’t get what women’s ‘special sensibility’ regarding wine is supposed to be. Well, I guess time will tell what womenwine.com thinks it is.

  3. Lorenzo - October 31, 2005

    well, i think the site itself offers some insight here:

    Julie Brosterman, founder of Women & Wine notes, “While men buy wine mostly because of a score or rating, women like to buy wine because of a connection, a story, and their delight in sharing wine with others.”

    so womenwine.com isn’t simply about women and wine. their slogan even reads: “wine, travel and the best of everything”.
    i reckon that’s how wine and the wine experience will be different when explored by the opposite sex: through the largely personal and subjective approach of women.
    in the light of that context, any process-oriented winemaking criticisms don’t even make sense.
    personally, i think it’s a fan-tastic idea and would like to see it grow to include members from all over the world. *thumbsup*

  4. Tom Wark - October 31, 2005

    I don’t think it’s a bad idea at all. Yet, with regard to process, I think the minute you join a “club” or organization dedicated to wine in one way or another you also commit yourself to process oriented winemaking criticism in one way or another. You will afteral begin to explore wine and make judgements.

  5. Lorenzo - November 1, 2005

    fair enough, but i think you should at least give them a chance to explore wine and make those judgements before you criticise them for it.
    i don’t agree with the preemptive nature of your protest; where are the specific references to instances where womenwine.com have fallen short in their approach? at least let them take-off before you shoot them down.
    i also think you’re missing the main point of the site: as a platform to allow women into to the world of wine – by women, for women.
    the wine experience itself may or may not be affected as a result and it may or may not be better than any other method of introduction into the world of wine. who cares?? how is that relevant to what they’re attempting to do?
    this club doesn’t take away from anything already established, so there’s no need to feel threatened by it.
    if i’ve missed the mark here, then i’m afraid i’ve failed to understand where you’re coming from.

  6. Catie - November 3, 2005

    I have mixed feelings about this site.
    Tom, I have a feeling that may be their main point of the site – a platform to allow women into the world of wine. At least, that is what I got out of it, along with the “warm fuzzies of wine sisterhood.” There is a side of me that reads into it they are giving women permission, their endorsement and a gentle pat on the back to enjoy wine.
    I live in a wine community where women are very dominant in the industry – from winemakers, marketing directors, and single owners of wineries and vineyards. My women friends, wine study club peers and I have been enjoying wine long before we ever got this site’s permission.
    Here is where I have mixed feelings: As a woman I found the site rather patronizing, but the retailer in me feels if it brings more dollars and education to the wine industry then it can be a good thing.
    And before I step down from my soap box, I had the same “militant” attitude when Beringer tried to market their “White Lie” Chardonnay – the low alcohol wine made for women. Who were they trying to kid? Sounds to me a low brix Chardonnay was dumped on them, got stuck during fermentation, so they did some creative marketing to rid of the stuff.
    Cheers!

  7. Gourmets of Wine - November 19, 2005

    Why A Wine Club Just for Women? Men!

    [Source: Fermentation: The Daily Wine Blog] quoted: I worked with one woman winemaker/winery owner who was convince that women make better winemakers because they are emotionally better equipped to nurture. While that always sounded right to me in a me…

  8. Jakee - June 24, 2007

    i live in a wine community where men and women are both join the club why this club is just for women i want to know about it

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    i agree with jackee only women wine club what they do there gossip on mens?

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