# Do women prefer white wine to red?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-prefer-white-wine-to-red/619663
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Tags:** wine
**Created:** [April 23, 2012, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-prefer-white-wine-to-red/619663 "2012-04-23T03:49:21Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2012, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-prefer-white-wine-to-red/619663/1 "2012-04-23T03:49:21Z")
At a recent social event this subject came up and it seemed to be agreed by both the men and women present that the answer is yes, markedly so - whereas men were believed not to have a strong preference.
Is this in fact the case? And if so, why?
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### Author:  [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2012, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-prefer-white-wine-to-red/619663/2 "2012-04-23T03:51:14Z")
Speaking only for myself and not my gender, I don’t drink red wine because it gives me headaches. That said, if it didn’t I might still prefer white at any sort of a social function because red wine gives people purple teeth, and god forbid you spill.
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### Author:  [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2012, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-prefer-white-wine-to-red/619663/3 "2012-04-23T04:35:40Z")
There are sulfites in most red wines as a preservative. Many people have a bad reaction such as headaches to sulfites.
As for the question in the OP, I suppose it would depend on the individual.
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### Author:  [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2012, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-prefer-white-wine-to-red/619663/4 "2012-04-23T05:25:57Z")
I find red wine tends to be a little stronger. Women on average have lower tolerance than men. But maybe the relative strength is a misconception on my part.
In any case, I’m a woman and I vastly prefer red.
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### Author:  [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2012, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-prefer-white-wine-to-red/619663/5 "2012-04-23T06:20:28Z")
Red for me, please. I can’t speak for all women either, but red’s the preferred wine for the majority of women in my family.
If you’d asked in the 70’s the answer would have been white. Maybe it’s a fashion thing, maybe it’s that we have some very nice locally grown reds.
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### Author:  [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2012, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-prefer-white-wine-to-red/619663/6 "2012-04-23T06:23:20Z")
I preferred white when I was early 20s, and red from my mid/late 20s onward.
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### Author:  [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2012, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-prefer-white-wine-to-red/619663/7 "2012-04-23T06:28:16Z")
> [@DianaG](#):
>
> Speaking only for myself and not my gender, I don’t drink red wine because it gives me headaches.
That’s exactly why my aunt would not drink it: it caused headaches. My ex-wife, on the other hand, had no problem with it, and preferred it with certain meals.
I think it ultimately comes down to personal preference.
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### Author:  [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2012, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-prefer-white-wine-to-red/619663/8 "2012-04-23T07:29:17Z")
I’ve done my share of grad school wine in ice bucket soirees. In my experience women drink white to red at least 5:1. Far more men drank red, but few men opted for wine in the first place vs beer or the hard stuff.
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### Author:  [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2012, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-prefer-white-wine-to-red/619663/9 "2012-04-23T09:40:47Z")
I’ll cook with white wine, but I rarely drink it. I vastly prefer red wine, but then I vastly prefer beef over other forms of flesh. If I’m eating poultry or fish, I usually will drink water rather than white wine.
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### Author:  [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2012, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-prefer-white-wine-to-red/619663/10 "2012-04-23T10:26:13Z")
Lots of surveys have shown that overwhelmingly more women prefer red wine. [Here](http://www.winesur.com/news/women%E2%80%99s-preferences-for-red-wines) is one in the last 12 months.
> [@](#):
>
> \*On the occasion of Vinexpo to take place in June in Bordeaux, a survey was carried out from March to April 2011. For this purpose, different magazines from France, United Kingdom, Germany, United States and Hong Kong polled over 10,500 women. The results produced by this survey are the same as those from a recent research conducted by the Spanish Observatory of Wine Market (OEMV), which reveals that six out of ten women drink red wine once a week and they prefer it to white, rosé wine and beer.
>
> In the international survey, it is clear that, contrary to the popular belief that women usually drink white wine, reds are their favorite beverage (51.1% against 26.4% in the case of white wines), especially for women over 46 years old (58%).
-
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2012, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-prefer-white-wine-to-red/619663/11 "2012-04-23T10:54:16Z")
My gf has converted me over to her point of view. We drink wine according to season. When it is cold outside, we drink primarily reds, regardless of the meal. Yes, there are delicate reds that complement fish.
In the summer we lean more toward white wines. Yes, you can enjoy white wine with a chunk of bloody prime rib.😃
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### Author:  [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2012, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-prefer-white-wine-to-red/619663/12 "2012-04-23T10:56:40Z")
I suspect it’s possible that despite red wine being more popular internationally, the stereotype persists among American women because of the strong sales of sweet pansy-ass wines like white zinfandel.
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### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2012, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-prefer-white-wine-to-red/619663/13 "2012-04-23T11:37:46Z")
This woman prefers red. I can certainly enjoy a good white, but I _prefer_ red.
I think some women profess to prefer white because they think that’s what a woman is supposed to like and they want to appear proper or something. I put these nitwits in the same category as women who won’t eat on a date because they don’t want to appear greedy or “a pig”, then binge on Haagen-Daaz when they get home.
Kindly note that I _am_ not regarding women with a genuine preference for white in that manner, my contempt is reserved for women who do stupid stuff in the name of fashion or ridiculous expectations.
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### Author:  [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2012, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-prefer-white-wine-to-red/619663/14 "2012-04-23T11:45:05Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#):
>
> There are sulfites in most red wines as a preservative. Many people have a bad reaction such as headaches to sulfites.
>
> As for the question in the OP, I suppose it would depend on the individual.
Sulfites are in both red and white wine—and [per this site](http://wineintro.com/glossary/s/sulfites.html), whites have more than reds. Though I wonder if including very sweet white wines throws off the average? Wine sulfite levels are usually less than in, say, dried fruit. For the vast majority of people, sulfites shouldn’t be an issue. What’s causing your [red wine headache](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_wine_headache), isn’t pinned down yet, though I disagree with the wiki about ruling out histamine.
I’m surprised by the cited studies in this thread as anecdotally and observationally, it’s been my experience that women mildly prefer white wines to red. I haven’t seen the strong preference for reds sited in the Vinexpo study. Learn something new, I guess.
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### Author:  [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2012, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-prefer-white-wine-to-red/619663/15 "2012-04-23T12:11:41Z")
I prefer a good white to a good red by a small margin (let’s say 52% white, 48% red). But I like them both. And I’ll take a good red over a mediocre white.
I find I’m in the minority, though. Most people I know - male and female - prefer red.
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2012, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-prefer-white-wine-to-red/619663/16 "2012-04-23T12:26:15Z")
> [@Antigen](#):
>
> I suspect it’s possible that despite red wine being more popular internationally, the stereotype persists among American women because of the strong sales of sweet pansy-ass wines like white zinfandel.
This. Women with taste buds and any sort of palatte prefer reds. White wines suck. 😛
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### Author:  [@SuperNelson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperNelson)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2012, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-prefer-white-wine-to-red/619663/17 "2012-04-23T12:39:28Z")
My vote is for the purple teeth factor.
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### Author:  [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2012, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-prefer-white-wine-to-red/619663/18 "2012-04-23T12:41:57Z")
> [@DianaG](#):
>
> That said, if it didn’t I might still prefer white at any sort of a social function because red wine gives people purple teeth, and god forbid you spill.
These are the reasons I usually drink white at parties. I like them both equally, though, and have boxes of both at home.😃
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### Author:  [@velvetjones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velvetjones)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2012, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-prefer-white-wine-to-red/619663/19 "2012-04-23T12:44:51Z")
Thanks for those links **Gray Ghost** I was going to say the same thing. As someone who makes wine at home I can attest personally to the fact that both red and white wines get sulfited. It’s a preservative.
I prefer to drink whatever will compliment the food I’m eating. If I’m drinking but not eating (which is highly unusual) I might have either. Depends on what kind of mood I’m in. If it’s a hot summer day I might prefer a white because they’re generally served chilled.
I dislike the purple teeth thing though and if I’m at a function where I’m networking or otherwise worried about making a good impression I might avoid red wine for that reason. In those cases, I drink scotch. 😛
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### Author:  [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2012, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-women-prefer-white-wine-to-red/619663/20 "2012-04-23T12:45:34Z")
> [@silenus](#):
>
> This. Women with taste buds and any sort of palatte prefer reds. White wines suck. 😛
Until very recently, I just thought I hated white wine, because every time I tried any, I hated it. When I finally got around to doing some wine tastings in Virginia and California, I learned that some whites do not, in fact, suck! The fun part about the wine tastings was that I learned what to look for. In whites, I like crisp, citrusy, floral, but not sweet. I could drink most Viogniers all day. I hate hate \*hate \*“oaky” or “buttery” Chardonnay. I still lean heavily towards reds, especially the heavy, jammy red zins, but at least now I know what to order in a restaurant if I think a white will work better with my meal.
What I do \*not \*understand is people who walk in and ask for “a glass of Chardonnay” without looking at the wine list and descriptions.
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