Study shows most prefer red wine over white

PHOENIX — A new study finally settled the worldwide debate between red wine and white wine — and it looks like red has come out on top.

According to data collected by Naked Wines, an online wine store, all but three states in the U.S. prefer red to white.

Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska are the sole white wine-appreciators, but not by much. Their white wine purchases made up around 48 percent of their Naked Wine orders, versus 47 percent for red. The remaining purchases were roses and sparkling wine.

The most passionate red-drinkers are North Carolina, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Reds make up about 60 percent of their total purchases, while whites were only 30 percent.

Arizona also prefers reds, but with a smaller margin: about 46 percent of its purchases were white wines and 50 were red. Besides just drinking wine, Arizona also produces both reds and whites, with one vineyard making “green” wine with a reduced carbon footprint.

Despite Arizona’s up-and-coming viticulture industry, no vineyards were named to the nation’s top 101 wineries.

Besides the desert being an unlikely place for wine to flourish, many Arizonan wine owners also recommend unusual combinations of food with wine, such as Girl Scout cookies or barbecue fare with wine.

An interactive map on the The Washington Post’s website showcases the results for every state that participated in Naked Wines’ data collection.

And these results aren’t just true for Americans. The other two areas Naked Wines sells to, Australia and the United Kingdom, also preferred red wines.

Geographic location may be the focus of this report, but other studies have shown that a person’s traits and personality might be more important when determining wine preference.

Although both men and women choose red wines more often than white, men choose reds at a higher rate, said Master of Wine Liz Thach in a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article.

According to a European study, reported by The Telegraph, red wine-drinkers are also more likely to have a college degree, be married and be ambitious in their careers. On the other hand, white wine-drinkers are more content in their current situations and are often happily single.

This same study said those who prefer reds describe themselves as being confident, strong and intelligent while those who prefer whites think of themselves as practical and reserved.

No matter the reason, Naked Wines’ collection at least settles the mystery of which wine is more popular, leaving the rest for the connoisseurs to decide.