Consumer perception and behaviour related to low-alcohol wine: do people overcompensate?

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec id="S1368980019005238_as1" sec-type="other"><jats:title>Objective:</jats:title><jats:p>Compared with standard wines, low-alcohol wines may have several social and health benefits. Innovative production processes have led to high-quality light wines. It is, however, unclear how consumers perceive and consume these alcohol-reduced wines. The current study aimed to investigate how people evaluate low-alcohol wine (Sauvignon Blanc) and if the reduction in alcohol and the information that a wine is low in alcohol influences consumption.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec id="S1368980019005238_as2" sec-type="other"><jats:title>Design:</jats:title><jats:p>Randomised controlled trial (RCT).</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec id="S1368980019005238_as3" sec-type="other"><jats:title>Setting:</jats:title><jats:p>Participants were invited to a wine tasting and randomised into one of the three conditions: they either tasted a ‘new white wine’ (12·5 % alcohol content), a ‘new low-alcohol white wine’ (8·0 % alcohol content) or they tasted the low-alcohol wine but were not aware that the wine was reduced in alcohol (low-alcohol, blinded).</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec id="S1368980019005238_as4" sec-type="other"><jats:title>Participants:</jats:title><jats:p>Ninety participants (42 % male, mean age = 41 (<jats:sc>sd</jats:sc> 14) years).</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec id="S1368980019005238_as5" sec-type="other"><jats:title>Results:</jats:title><jats:p>Mean comparisons showed similar ratings for the low-alcohol conditions and the standard alcohol condition (mean &gt; 5·6/7). The mean consumed amount across all conditions did not differ (162 (<jats:sc>sd</jats:sc> 71) ml, (<jats:italic>F</jats:italic><jats:sub>2,86</jats:sub> = 0·43, <jats:italic>P</jats:italic> &gt; 0·05)), hence people who tasted the low-alcohol wine consumed approximately 30 % less alcohol. However, participants were willing to pay more for the normal wine compared with the low-alcohol wine, (<jats:italic>F</jats:italic><jats:sub>2,87</jats:sub> = 3·14, <jats:italic>P</jats:italic> &lt; 0·05).</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec id="S1368980019005238_as6" sec-type="other"><jats:title>Conclusions:</jats:title><jats:p>Participants did not alter their drinking behaviour in response to the reduced alcohol content, and the low-alcohol wine was perceived positively. There might be an emerging market potential for wine of reduced alcohol content, but consumers may not be willing to pay the same price as for the standard wine.</jats:p></jats:sec>

Production and Marketing of Low-Alcohol Wine

“…However, two other studies showed that low alcohol labelling did not increase consumption or intended consumption. In a study by Bucher et al [57], participants consumed equal amounts of wine, whether that be standard wine (12.5% Sauvignon Blanc) or wine with reduced alcohol content (8% Sauvignon Blanc) [57]. These results are in line with the findings of another recent experimental study that concluded that reducing wine alcohol content had neither physiological nor cognitive influence on the quantities consumed [67].…”

“…In a recent wine study by Bucher et al, participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions; a low-alcohol (8%) condition, a blinded low-alcohol (8%) condition, or a standard condition Sauvignon Blanc (12.5%). Participants in all three conditions reported similar results for liking of the wine and pleasantness to drink [57]. It should be noted that a further reduction in strength, i.e., <8% may have different results.…”

“…When a beverage with reduced alcohol content is consumed in the same quantity as a standard beverage, the total alcohol consumption is significantly lower. In the study by Bucher et al, those who drank the low-alcohol wine consumed Production and Marketing of Low-Alcohol Wine DOI: http://dx.doi.org /10.5772/intechopen.87025 approximately 30% less alcohol as compared to those who drank the standard wine [57]. These findings have important practical implications and suggest that reduced alcohol wine can be an effective strategy to reduce alcohol consumption and therefore decrease alcohol related risks.…”

“…Meillon et al [49] found that a priori having tasted partially alcohol reduced wine expectations were negative, based on reasons such as; loss of tradition and authenticity of wine, worry about the quality of the wine and wine preservation, and a feeling of tempering with wine. Experimental studies with blind tasting, however, showed similar liking rates for standard wines and wines with reduced alcohol content [51,56,57]. It is therefore interesting to investigate the extent to which the lower expected quality based on the label or information cue affects taste ratings, i.e., are the taste ratings different when participants are aware of the reduced alcohol content versus when they are unaware of the alcohol strength.…”

“…Some studies found that consumers are willing to pay more for wine made with grapes enriched in resveratrol [58]. However, others found that consumers expect lower alcohol wines to be cheaper compared to standard wine [29,57]. As price has been described as an indicator of quality, a perceived lower quality associated with alcohol reduced wines could be a possible explanation for these findings [59].…”