Wine Women Want

This Tuesday through Thursday, Santa Rosa will host the first-ever wine competition to be judged entirely by women.

Women buy much of the wine in the United States and female winemakers create quite a bit of it as well. But, when it comes to declaring what’s great and what’s grating, it’s usually male critics who make that decree.

So, the organization Women for WineSense stepped in to help rectify that situation by putting together the National Women's Wine Competition. About 30 female judges will be at Fountaingrove Inn, (101 Fountaingrove Parkway in Santa Rosa) for three days beginning on Tuesday, to take part in the blind tasting. Wineries from across the country have responded, and the event received about 1,800 entries—about seven times more than average for a first-year wine competition.

Winners of the contest might begin sporting a certified “Wine Women Want” seal on their labels. I figure this will be a big help for guys when they’re faced with choosing a bottle of wine to take to their girlfriend’s house when she cooks dinner. I can’t say whether it will really help them pick out a bottle she’ll love. But, I bet they’ll get extra points for being so thoughtful.