During 2015, 4.6 million Australian women 18+ (or 49.0% of the adult female population) drank some kind of wine – white, red, sparkling and/or fortified – in an average four weeks, compared to 3.7 million of men (41.2%). White wine, consumed by 69.3% of female wine drinkers over this time period, wins out over red wine (56.3%), sparkling (42.3%) and fortified (9.3%).
Obviously, many drink more than one type of wine: in fact, 18.4% of female wine drinkers drink red, white and sparkling wine in any given four-week period.
Type of wine consumed: male vs female wine drinkers
Source: Roy Morgan Single Source (Australia), October 2014 – September 2015 (n=7,621).
Male wine drinkers, on the other hand, are more likely to drink red wine (78.1%) than white (58.4%). They are dramatically less likely than women to drink sparkling wine (24.6%), much more likely to drink fortified wine (15.4%) and somewhat less likely to drink red, white andsparkling (15.6%) in an average four weeks.
Although women far outnumber men when it comes to wine-drinking incidence, the volume each gender consumes is fairly similar. Two-thirds of female wine drinkers and nearly 63% of their male counterparts report consuming less than 15 glasses of wine per four weeks.
Number of glasses of wine consumed per average 4 weeks: women vs men
Source: Roy Morgan Single Source (Australia), October 2014 – September 2015 (n=7,621).
Even among those drinkers consuming more than 43 glasses of wine per four-week period, the difference between men (10.6%) and women (7.5%) is not as large as one might expect.
Andrew Price, General Manager – Consumer Products, Roy Morgan Research, says:
“Australian women love their wine and, while especially fond of the white and sparkling varieties, do partake in red and (to a lesser extent) fortified wine as well. While the proportion of women who drink wine has fallen slightly over the last decade (from 51.8% to 49%), the decrease in male wine drinkers has been much more marked (from 48.1% to 41.2%).Beer remains the clear favourite among Aussie men, consumed by 58.1% of them in any given four weeks.
“There is frequently a social dimension to Aussie women’s wine-drinking: over 45% consume it in a licensed venue (for example a bar, pub, restaurant or festival) and nearly 41% drink it at friends’/relatives’ homes. In contrast, 34.6% of male wine-drinkers consume it ‘on premises’, and 32.5% do so at friends’/relatives’ homes.
“Not surprisingly, however, the comfort of home is the most popular place to enjoy a vino, for male and female drinkers alike (85.5% and 80.3% respectively).
“Less expected, perhaps, is the relatively similar volumes of wine consumed by both genders in an average four weeks, even at the high end of the range (43+ glasses). With the recommended daily alcohol intake being no more than two standard drinks per day, it is worth remembering that moderation is always the best approach to booze, whether it be wine, beer or spirits…”
