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 Women Buyers
Many brands appear targeted at female buyers, who purchase the majority of wine. "Women consume 60 percent of wine," observes MacNeil, though, she notes, "Women have bought most of the wine for decades—just not expensive wine." Women are said to be more attracted to packages than to numeric scores, and that may have led to some labels, like the venerable flowered Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais, and the Perrier-Jouët Champagne bottles, as well as brands like Beringer’s White Lie and Mad Housewife, to be aimed specifically at women.
 It’s certainly true that an increasing number of marketing and advertising executives are women, and their different perspectives may be significant. As to whether a blatant appeal to women—or other categories of buyers—works, there’s some controversy. "No one appreciates blatant marketing," says John Gillespie, president of the Wine Market Council and a partner in consulting firm Wine Colleagues. "The trick is to create product appeal without being overt."
MacNeil also finds "women’s wines" slightly condescending. "There’s a fine line between being culturally playful and [being] demeaning," she warns.
And while some producers target women, others cherish their macho images as outsiders. These include Three Thieves and Bandit, The Prisoner from Orin Swift, and Don Sebastiani’s Screw Kappa Napa, which tweaks the corks of upscale Napa producers. Don Sebastiani and Sons also makes Smoking Loon, a name I can’t figure out though the wine has proven very popular.
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