California winemakers are turning to "gender vending" to market their wares. Last year, it was wine for women, with labels like Mad Housewife and White Lie Early Season chardonnay. This year the macho man is a Sonoma County winery's target, with "hearty red wines for men."
The vintner is marketing to the guy manning the backyard barbeque and the NASCAR fan, guys who like a good red but don't make a finicky hobby of knowing the tasting jargon. The labels flash the outline of a galloping stallion and ads feature fishing and hunting.
The gal thing at least seems to be working -- ACNielsen supermarket data on eight wines marketed to women buyers showed the brands made $10 million of the approximately $8 billion in wine sales for the year ending Feb. 11.
