|
HEALDSBURG, Calif. (AP) - They're making macho merlot in California wine country. Hot on the stiletto heels of last year's wines-for-women trend, new releases from Ray's Station Vineyards in Sonoma County are being pitched to the Y-chromosome set as "Hearty Red Wines for Men."
The bottling of the sexes seems to be part of a wider industry trend that includes cute labels and easier-to-use packaging. Vintners want to break from the pack by making wines more consumer friendly.
"You face this challenge: How do you even get people to know you're alive?" said Robert Smiley, a management professor at the University of California, Davis, who follows the wine industry. Considering the fierce competition to get noticed among the hundreds of brands lining store shelves, gender vending is "not a bad strategy to try," he said.
|