'We need to change the wine-collecting rhetoric'

My first en primeur purchase was deeply uncool; from a terrible Bordeaux vintage (1997) and an unfashionable appellation (Canon-Fronsac) it was the best I could afford, but I still remember the thrill of my first investment in my future drinking.

- LAURA TAYLOR

As my career progressed and my wine knowledge increased, my collection has grown in both quantity and quality, and I now have enough wine from around the world to share with friends well into my dotage. Of course, being in the wine industry is a boon, but observing that very few of my female friends have been bitten by the wine bug, I can't help but wonder why collecting wine is still such a male-dominated arena.

Collector Aileen Daly feels 'it's not a wine problem but a society problem - the person who buys the wine is the person who earns the money' - and that is still, mostly, men. Having studied engineering and forged a career in the City, Daly is comfortable around wine and used to holding her own in male-dominated environments, but admits even she can feel intimidated and in the minority at tastings and dinners.

The next generation of wine drinkers sees this gender bias, too; Sophie Wass, 23, tells me the family joke that her father is always handed the wine list when they go out for dinner. 'He doesn't drink.