From the perspective of anthropology and ethnography of sex and gender, rituals associated with the Wine Queen represent an enactment of certain aspects of culture and may include a parade, carnival, formal festivities, national and international wine competitions, fairs, and other public events. Enthronement of the Wine Queen is also an enactment of social ritual regulations, visual codes, dress and makeup codes, ways of expressing rivalry toward other competitors and submissiveness to jury members, and the mastery of protocol rules. Contrary to the assertion of organizers of such contests that their principal aim is the promotion of wine, this article places them within the realm of beauty pageants. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT