With Euro 2016 kicking off tomorrow, you may well be expecting this week’s column to be devoted to English or Welsh beers on the grounds that a) that’s what the mainly male audience will be drinking; and b) no one in their right mind would neck a foreign beer during a football tournament in which their home side was competing. But you know what? I’m getting a bit weary of stereotyping in the drinks world.
With the recent boom in craft beer, you might have thought things were improving, but there are still some real shockers out there, says beer writer Melissa Cole, an occasionally despairing campaigner against sexism in the beer industry. Take Slater’s Top Totty (a “stunningly seductive blonde!”) or Bank Top’s Old Slapper (“Get your hands on one!” – and, no, I’m not making any of this up), and you’ll see that her mission is far from accomplished.
Beer isn’t the only culprit, either. The marketing for beefy red wines such as Toro’s El Pugil Tempranillo 2014 (down to £6.99 from the usual £7.99 until 21 June, Wine Rack; 13.5% abv) and Jumilla’s MMM Macho Man Monastrell 2013 (£14.99 EJ Bartholemew, Wine Rack; 14% abv) is essentially shrieking, “Stick to your prosecco, ladies!”
Not only that, but this summer rosés seem to have increasingly girly names: yes, M&S, I’m looking at your La Fleur d’Amelie Rosé 2015 (£10; 12.5% abv), an admittedly pretty, merlot-dominated Bordeaux rosé, as well as at Waitrose’s Le Bijou de Sophie Valrose Rosé 2015 (£8.49; 13.5% abv) and Lidl’s Le Rosé de Madame S 2015 (12.5% abv), though at £5.49 for a gloriously thirst-quenching rosé, I’m more inclined to put up with being patronised (a bit). Provence has long had those curvy rosé bottles, but there seem more of them around than usual this year. Whether they appeal more to women than men is debatable, but Amalthée Provence Rosé 2015 (£9 Morrisons; 13% abv) suggests that’s the target audience.
Anyway, I will be watching the football and I’ll be drinking whatever random bottle I happen to have in the fridge or under the stairs. That could well be another good buy from Lidl’s spring collection, Cantine Valle Isarco Müller Thurgau 2015 (£6.99; 12.5% abv), from Alto Adige in Italy – it’s so obscure, it’s beyond sexual stereotyping and ideal if you like aromatic whites. (While you’re at Lidl, incidentally, you may as well also pick up a bottle of its delicious, elderflower-scented Le Heron Côtes de Gascogne 2015 – £5.99; 11.5% abv – which is far better than most côtes de Gascognes on the market.) White wine with footy? Whatever next?
