What Women Want: A Wine Magazine of Their Own?

Beginning in May, a new wine magazine for women will be available at newsstands throughout the U.S. This week editor-in-chief Michele Ostrove meets with like-minded men and women on the Women Wine Critics Board blogsite to discuss the launch of Wine Adventure magazine.

I’d like to encourage everyone to visit the WWCB blog and ask Michele questions. This is an opportunity for us to interact with an editor during the first year of a publication’s existence. How exciting is that? This is our chance to speak up and offer ideas for a new wine publication—one that’s not geared around scoring points and collecting trophies as if wine was some sort of PrimeWine sports activity.

"We created Wine Adventure to meet a need that had not been previously addressed by wine publications," explains Michele. Recent research indicates that 55% of wine purchases in the U.S. are made by women, and she points out that many wineries are launching marketing campaigns to attract more women buyers. "While I don’t necessarily agree with the premise that women want something different in a wine, I do view these campaigns as a positive sign that our buying power and interests are finally being recognized. Hopefully, not too far down the road, we won’t be ‘dumbed down’ to in wine advertising, ignored by restaurant sommeliers, or assumed to only have a palate for low-calorie, ‘light’ wines."

I missed the first issue—apparently my online subscription did not go through the first time—but I just received the Dec/Jan and Feb/Mar issues. The magazine has an interesting selection of viewpoints, from sommelier to celebrity; challenging recipes and wine pairings; and wine travel articles covering Croatia, South Africa, Greece, Rioja, the Willamette Valley in Oregon, and the Finger Lakes wine region.

What do you think? Is this going to be just another geeky wine mag? Or a ‘women’s’ pub ultimately destined to present cute 10-second articles like "How to Pop His Cork"? Or could it be a wine magazine we’ve all been waiting for?