Are New Wine Brands Targeting Women Low on Substance?

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Does the wine industry really know what women want? Not according to writer Elin McCoy, as she wrote recently in an article on Bloomberg.com:  

According to the new “girly-wine” brand marketers, women wine drinkers want to be super-skinny, to toss their hair playfully as they choose their bottles to match moods, not foods. They also crave an easy-sipping flavor profile with a naughty edge of sweetness.

In the past few years the wine world has finally discovered that women drinkers are a coveted customer niche, which isn’t rocket-science since women represent nearly 60% of U.S. wine consumers, according to the Beverage Information Group’s 2011 Wine Handbook.

Most wine marketers are targeting women 21 to 34, but their efforts often treat this audience as if it had no more sophistication than a bevy of sorority sisters on spring break.

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Cercius, Cotes du Rhone, France.

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Grapes

85% Grenache, 15% Syrah

 

Facts

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Passive-Aggressive Wine Store Owner Helps a Customer Choose a Wine.

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170 Year Old Shipwrecked Champagne up for Auction.

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170 Year Old Shipwrecked Champagne up for Auction.

Paris auction firm Artcurial Briest–Poulain–F.Tajan has been selected to sell-off Champagne bottles that have spent the last 170 years in a shipwreck at the bottom of the Baltic sea.

The shipwreck and its cargo are the property of the Åland Islands (NB: don’t worry, I had to Google them as well). The origin and name of the schooner remains a mystery, although the Åland government is carrying out extensive research in order to piece together its final voyage.

Whereas a number of the bottles are being kept for museum purposes, the rest will be auctioned off over the next few years, with all proceeds going towards Baltic marine conservation.

170 Year Old Shipwrecked Champagne up for Auction.

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Jacksonville King Street Farmers Market – Every Wednesday.

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The Jacksonville King Street Farmers Market is a great addition to Riverside! Definitely worth checking out!

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Study Finds that Great Wine Tasters are Born that Way!

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Is an ability to taste wine come from our DNA? A  new study has concluded that certain individuals are born with a heightened sensitivity that gives them the edge when it comes to tasting wine.

“Wine Expertise Predicts Taste Phenotype,” by Profs. John Hayes and Gary Pickering separated over 300 participants into two groups—”wine experts,” (professionals in the wine industry), and regular consumers—and gave them a paper disk treated with drops of the chemical 6-n-propylrhioueacil (PROP). They were then asked to taste it.

Some people find PROP tasteless, and others mildly or extremely bitter. The Professors wrote that PROP testing “…has been widely adopted as a marker of genetic variation in taste” and that some recent studies showed “…those who experience PROP as being intensely bitter not only experience heightened overall oral sensation, but also may be more acute tasters, with the ability to discriminate smaller differences between oral stimuli.”

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Wine On A Plane!

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Thinking about taking wine on a plane? Here’s a few things to consider…

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The Problem with Wine by the Glass.

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BTG (or wine By-The-Glass) can be a great way to sample a few different wines in a restaurant or wine bar without committing to the whole bottle. I would like to state, though, there are a number of pitfalls, namely;…

Bad-Wine-ListThe Selection Usually Sucks.

I’m mentioning this first, as I think it’s the biggest problem! A solid wine by-the-glass list is hard to come by, for a number of reasons:

My Advice: It’s very rare that I order by-the-glass in restaurants, with my reasoning being (as the heading states): the selection usually sucks.
It’s often suggested that dining at small locally-owned restaurants will overcome the problem of wine lists that are essentially “owned” by a particular wine distributor. This couldn’t be further from the truth and if anything it’s just as likely that they are receiving “sweetened” wine deals from the big boy distributors.
Depending on the State you live in (for legal reasons), I would recommend just buying a whole bottle, pouring your two glasses, corking it and taking the rest home with you.

 

Ordering-Expensive-WineRestaurants Rape You on Mark-up

The old wine industry saying goes that: “the glass pays for the bottle” i.e. the price you’re paying for the glass is usually the wholesale price of the bottle.

Some people have a tendency to go ape-sh*t when they see that a restaurant is charging only a few $’s less than what they can buy a bottle of for from a grocery store.
If you’re one of these people, I would suggest you stay home and drink your grocery store wine. It’s usually the same people that are quite happy to pay $2 for a Coke that contains 10¢ of post-mix, while they wear their $80 khakis that cost $4 to make in Indonesia. Weird!

My Advice: I’ve started bringing my own wine to a lot more restaurants and quite happily pay the corkage fee. If that’s the route you want to take, a few things to bear in mind:
- If the bottle cost under $20 (retail), don’t even bother. Of course this is a free country and you’re more than able to take a bottle of $7 Australian Pinot Grigio to enjoy with your meal at a high-end steak house. Just know that everyone is judging you!
- Make sure you’re not bringing a bottle that isn’t already on the wine list. That would be referred to as a “dick move”.
- Offer the Sommelier/Server a glass. It’s just good etiquette.

 

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The Only Thing Better…

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Orlando Science Center – Second Annual Science of Wine.

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Orlando-Science-CenterJoin the Orlando Science Center on Saturday May 19th, for their second annual Science of Wine event.

The Science of Wine is a unique wine and food tasting with an educational twist. More than a hundred wines from all of the major regions of the world will be represented. Local gourmet restaurants and caterers will also be present to pair the wines with a variety of delectable dishes. Click here for more details.

Sponsors will enjoy a Champagne Wine Tasting from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. and the Grand Tasting will take place from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

In addition to an exquisite food and wine selection, there will be interactive educational wine experiences.

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Washington State Wine Facts Infographic.

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My first ever infographic! Not too bad for a first attempt…

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White Balsamic-Braised Chicken with Leeks and Peas Paired with a Chardonnay Trio.

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“What’s with all the recipes you’ve been making with peas? You know I hate peas!” said Mrs Chislett.

This was news to me. Or maybe not! Maybe it’s just been that long since I actually used peas in cooking, that it completely slipped my mind!
Peas always remind me of school dinners, with the only reason that I find myself using them again here is I had a bag leftover from the last pairing and I knew I wasn’t going to use them any time soon.

Chicken-in-the-pan-Photo

Leek-Chopped-PHOTO

 

 

 

 

 

If you’re cooking for a family, this recipe will quite easily feed everyone. However, if you’re only cooking for 1-2 people (as I was), be prepared for leftovers!

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