Chandra's Cooking with Wine

If wine was once a domain jealously guarded by men, this is no longer true today. In fact, more and more women work in winegrowing, or simply enjoy the juice of the trellis. And it is worth pointing out that they have a different relationship to wine from men.

I am often asked how I feel about working in an area traditionally reserved for men. But for me, gender has nothing to do with it: I've been fascinated by wine for over 25 years, whether it is produced by men or by women. Of course there is still a majority of men in this field, but over the years, I've noticed more and more women working in wine-related professions: as winegrowers, PR managers, wine merchants, sommeliers, stock managers or vineyard owners. In the home, it is also often women who are responsible for purchasing wines, contrary to common public opinion.

Sensitive palates

Women make up an entire target group, but sadly they are not always perceived as such by marketing managers. It's very surprising when you consider that women have never had as much money or been as independent, married and started families so late, or spent so much on wine as today. 5 % of women aged 18 to 24 buy wine, a figure which increases to 45 % in the 25 to 45 category. And each year, the percentage of women buying wine increases. Today, around 60 % of wine purchases are made by women. This means that promotions aimed specifically at the target group they represent would be welcome.

As far as tasting is concerned, it is often said that women have more sensitive palates than men. In any case, that's the view of my British colleague Joanna Simon, author of numerous works on wine, who has a very definite opinion: "Women are better than men at perceiving aromas and fragrances because they are more accustomed to tasting and smelling. It may be that these senses are heightened in women, or that they are more open to learning. In fact, men often think they know all there is to know about wine, and find it hard to admit that they know nothing about it."

This view is of course, a little extreme. When it comes to wine, we should avoid hasty generalisations as in any case, exceptions are legion. But you can't help notice that during a tasting session, women behave differently to men: they generally talk less, they are not confident in their taste and they think they know nothing, which is obviously not the case. Wine tasting is of course a subjective experience where it's important to learn to perceive what our senses are telling us and to express this through words. Women are more likely to detect very good wines than men because they are not easily fooled. They tend to follow the recommendations of a person they trust rather than the marks given to a vintage by some guru or other. Personally, I find it fascinating.

For enjoying or collecting?

Women are also different from men in their relationship to wine. For them, wine is primarily a food product and an object of pleasure, while for men, it is often an object for their collection. Women also pay more attention to pairing wines with dishes. In the courses I run specially for women, I always make a point of associating the wine with daily life, starting of course with cooking and well-being.

Women and their relationship to wine

• Women are more likely to purchase a wine for its taste than for its label. 

• Men follow hierarchies, women follow recommendations. 

• Women refuse to say that a wine is good just because the bottle is from a prestigious brand. 

• Women generally can't drink as much wine as men. 

• Pairing wine with dishes is very important to women. 

• Some of the most expensive wines in the world are produced by women. 

• Women won't hesitate to buy wine in a supermarket. 

• Women prefer red wine to white or rosé.