Women and wine: analysis of this important market segment

Abstract

What do women want? This question is being asked by global wine producers and marketers as the significance of the female market segment has been recognised for its contribution to sales and income. In recent years, Berringer Blass has employed an all‐female team to design and market ‘White Lie’, a wine targeted specifically at women wine consumers (Todd, 2005). Bruwer, Li, Bastian and Alant (2005) also noted the emergence of wines positioned primarily for female consumers, such as ‘Bend on the River’ in Germany and ‘Annabella’ in Australia. But does the female wine consumer actually behave substantially differently from her male counterpart? This multi‐national study sought to understand whether significant differences in wine purchasing or consumption behaviour could indeed be explained by gender. Knowledge of gender‐based behavioural differences would be of use to the wine industry in terms of targeting and satisfying specific market segments.