Women Wine Critics Board

Chauvinism and Wine Tasting — Sex Role Misunderstandings

Contributed by Daniel Rogov, wine writer

There are two popular wine-related beliefs making the rounds these days, both of which deserve to be put to rest because they are nothing more than pure and unadulterated nonsense. The first of these would have us believe that men are better qualified to taste wine than women and the second that some wines are more appropriate for men and others for women.

At least since the 1950's, it has been well demonstrated that the ability to taste wines (or for that matter any other food or beverage) is determined entirely by the number of taste buds on the tongues and the density of scent receptors in the nostrils. Thirty years passed with no major research into the question of taste but starting in the mid 1990's, largely because major food producers were interested in determining to whom to direct their advertising campaigns, interest in the subject revived in Europe and North America several major research studies were undertaken. At Cornell University, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Grenoble biologists came up with two sets of findings. The first, that had been more or less known by people in the food and wine industry for a hundred or more years, was that people fall into three broad categories—non-tasters, normal tasters and super-tasters, that is to say, people with limited ability, normal ability and extra-ordinary ability to discern the flavors and aromas in foods and beverages.

What amazed the researchers (who were mostly males) and the wine-tasting public (especially the male chauvinists among that group) was the second finding—that nearly 80 percent of super-tasters are women and not men.

In Defense of Downtrodden Merlot

Contributed by Katy Budge, freelance writer

Not since James Bond ordered "shaken not stirred" has a movie character had so much impact on a potent potable. In this case, I’m talking about Miles from Sideways, but I’m not talking about pinot noir. Indeed, his passion for pinot brought legions of the movie’s fans to make it their wine of choice, but arguably, his condemnation of merlot has had far greater impact. Once almost as ubiquitous as chardonnay, merlot has fallen from grace. It’s no longer cool.

Casting Calls for "The Wine Makers"

Producers of "The Wine Makers," a PBS reality series to be filmed in the wine country of Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo, will start casting for the show next month.

Set to premier in spring 2007, "The Wine Makers" follows six men and women as they compete for a chance to create and launch their own wine label. All of the contestants will be wine enthusiasts who want to start winemaking careers.

The first casting call will be during the Paso Robles 2006 Grand Tasting Tour on Feb. 1 in Atlanta's Fox Theatre. The event attracts vintners, the media and consumers and showcases wines from 25 wineries in the Paso Robles American viticulture area.

Additional casting calls are scheduled in Dallas, Austin, Texas, New York, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Miami, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.

The series is a joint effort of Doc City Production producers Kevin Whelan and JJ Levine, and South Carolina Educational Television (SCETV). Whelan is the producer of PBS shows such as "Wine 101" and "Tales From the Vineyard," a wine-and-travel program. Levine has developed television series and films for Tri-Star Pictures, Columbia Television, The Walt Disney Co. and Turner Network Television.

Principal photography for the series will be shot in San Luis Obispo County starting in September. For any information regarding casting, e-mail the producers at casting@doccitytv.com

Wine and Pregnancy – Lies That Women Are Told

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Since 1990 every bottle of wine, beer and spirits sold in the United States has carried the warning that "according to the Surgeon General, women should not drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects." If that has not been enough to add to the anxiety of women already concerned about their own health and the health of their fetuses, hundreds of newspaper articles and television talk shows have been devoted to convincing women that if they have even a single drink during their pregnancy that there is a chance that their baby will be born deformed, addicted to alcohol or retarded.

It seems, however, as if the American government, medical authorities and media have not been telling American women the entire truth. Although the official message is "don't drink at all during pregnancy", a great deal of recent research and a re-examination of the alcohol-pregnancy issue show that there is no conclusive evidence to demonstrate that moderate drinking during pregnancy can harm the fetus.