The differentiated effect of information on the sensorial appreciation of wine

Abstract

PurposeThis paper investigates how giving additional information to consumers changes their appreciation of wine, and how this effect changes with their knowledge of wine and their characteristics.Design/methodology/approachA survey of 415 French consumers was carried-out in 2014, focusing on the sensory evaluation of 37 red Bourgogne wines. Two sensorial evaluations (visual, and smell & taste) are investigated, first without any information about the wine and then with the presentation of the wine bottle with its labels.FindingsThe majority of participants are significantly influenced by the information displayed. The influence of information depends on their initial knowledge and individual characteristics (gender, age, and home area). This influence is robust, whatever be the means of evaluation.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was carried out with red Bourgogne wines and focused on the village and regional appellations, with a low and medium price range. The results need a broader investigation to be generalizable.Practical implicationsInformation does not have the same influence depending on individual characteristics and on knowledge of wine. Promoting different wines to different consumers who do not have the same knowledge and do not use the same distribution channels is challenging as consumers do not all have the same expectations of red Bourgogne wines. The results provide directions for better targeting consumers through the information on the bottle labels.Originality/valueBy cross-tabulating sensory tastings and knowledge tests, this research contributes to measuring the holistic effect of information on the hedonic appreciation of wine across a significant range of consumers issued from two big cities.

Young adults' taste perception, consumption habits, and how this influences their willingness to pay for wine: Evidence from an experimental auction

“…This finding leads us to the assumption that young adults' taste perception is strongly associated with products they are somehow familiar with. This is in line with recent studies (Saïdi & Giraud, 2020) regarding low‐level involvement in consumers' behavior with a given product they are unfamiliar with. In this regard, Barber (2010) postulates that a given wine from a production region that consumers are well acquainted with can affect their sensorial perception of the quality of the wine itself.…”

“…This finding leads us to the assumption that young adults' taste perception is strongly associated with products they are somehow familiar with. This is in line with recent studies (Saïdi & Giraud, 2020) regarding low-level involvement in consumers' behavior with a given product they are unfamiliar with.…”

“…Finally, with a consensus that information is of most importance to less involved consumers (D'Alessandro & Pecotich, 2013; Saïdi & Giraud, 2020), these individuals' preferences are heavily driven by the content of the label on time to choose a bottle of wine (Atkin & Thach, 2012; Capitello et al, 2021), as it facilitates risk reduction in decision‐making (Atkin & Thach, 2012; Capitello et al, 2021). Namely, several studies (e.g., Capitello et al, 2021; D'Alessandro & Pecotich, 2013; Saïdi & Giraud, 2020) have identified the importance of the reference on a wine label to a protected designation of origin (PDO) and/or having an organic (ORG) certification. For one turn, the PDO reference certifies the uniqueness of the wine's place of origin, resulting from territorial characteristics and employed methods and techniques (González & Dans, 2018; Jorge, Lopez‐Valeiras, & Gonzalez‐Sanchez, 2021; Knowles et al, 2022).…”

Implicit prices of attributes of fine German Riesling: magnitude and heterogeneity

“…Sensoric wine attributes also play a part but their influence seems to be weaker (Cardebat and Figuet, 2004). However, methodological approaches to the measurement of the relative importance of objective versus sensoric characteristics remain an issue (Thrane, 2009;Saı €di and Giraud, 2020). Other contributions are based on the economics of reputation and refer to individual and/or collective reputation.…”