Wine, Women and Wrong

A curious - nay, downright misleading - headline on a dubious story, which reeks of wine industry self-serving. In my experience - supplemented by ample evidence of the best kind, i.e. anecdotal - women who buy red wine tend towards musclebound Australian shiraz of barely drinkable pungency (I've even known one or two who were addicted to 'sparkling Shiraz' - sorry, but there it is...). The women I know who favour white wine tend to have more taste and discernment - though, like most of the population, they too have a tendency toward buying Australian rather than, as any sane person would, French. As the great Bryan Appleyard has remarked, after forgetting his own rule and suffering the consequences, Only Drink French Wine* (argh, my head hurts). And, as the great Al Murray, pub Landlord, ordains: 'White wine for the lady.'

* I'd make an exception for certain South American reds.