Rant: Why Don't Men Love Wine?

"Men collect, women appreciate--discuss."
--Rosi Hanson

For over ten years, there have been multiple studies showing that generally women purchase more wine than men. There are more men who collect wine, who amass large wine cellars, while women most often tend to buy everyday drinking wines. A recent Gallup Poll indicates how few men actually prefer wine to beer and spirits. Why is that the case? Why don't more men love wine?

50% of women prefer wine to either beer or spirits, with about 19% opting for beer and 28% preferring spirits. With men, only 11% prefer wine, while 62% choose beer as their primary choice and 24% choose spirits. So, roughly only one in ten men prefers wine to other alcoholic beverages. Another Gallup Poll, from July 2017, provides some more details on this result. That poll indicates "Less-educated and middle-income Americans also tend to choose beer" which may indicate wine still is seen as a snobbish beverage in some circles.

When men and women are combined into a single group, then 40% prefer beer over wine (30%) and spirits (26%). Over the past twenty years, the percentage of those who prefer beer has decreased from a high of about 46%, and it seems to be on a continued decline. Wine reached a high of about 39% in 2005, but has been on a decline since then. And spirits have generally been steady at about 20% but are on an increase at the moment.

The rise of craft beers and spirits has obviously played a part in some people choosing beer and spirits over wine. And there are cultural matters too which lead to those results, such as sports fans who will more often opt for a beer. Beer is also cheap for those who want to drink to get drunk. However, there also seems to be an image problem with wine, primarily with men. Wine just doesn't seem as accessible as beer or spirits. There is probably still a perception that wine lovers are elitist snobs. We need to shatter these images and preconceptions.

We need to make wine more accessible, to persuade people that wine is for everyone, no matter who you are. We need to normalize the consumption of wine so that it seems ordinary for any occasion, from watching a football game to just sitting in the backyard. We don't need to create specific "man" wines as the industry has done with some wines they specifically market to women, from Mommy's Time Out to Sassy Bitch.

Wine is for everyone, men and women!