The University of Basel in Switzerland conducted a study that demonstrated the impact of the cost of wine on the perception of the drink.
The focus group consisted of 140 volunteers who were divided into 3 groups. During the tasting, each group was offered 3 types of Italian wines of 2013 from different price categories:
1. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC, cost – $ 10.
2. Bolgheri DOC – 35 $.
3. Toscana IGT – $ 70.
The participants tasted all the wines blindly, but they were told the prices of the wines. Some of the participants knew the real cost of the drink, some were told false figures: the price for cheap wine was overstated, for expensive wine the price was understated.
The results were truly amazing. A group of people highly appreciated the cheapest wine, being sure that its cost is much higher, while the understated price for an expensive variety did not distort its perception.
Professor Jens Glaab also commented on this event:
“I know how important context is. The mind is a wonderful thing, capable of distorting the truth to an incredible degree to make reality meet expectations.”
He also noted that the experiment was interesting to him as a placebo researcher.
The famouse Cyprus sommelier Brazhnikov Petr expressed his opinion:
“The biggest misconception is ‘The higher the price, the better the taste.’ No, and one more time no. When I visited the Fonseca winery in Portugal”, I met an interesting and very wise man. His name was Lago and he taught me one very interesting lesson. We walked around the Braganca area and went to a wine store. We were met by a merchant and offered one of the most exclusive wines in his collection. We agreed to a tasting. The wine tasted strange, but after hearing the cost of several hundred dollars and a fascinating story about its historical origin, I was already preparing to buy it. Fortunately, I was stopped by Lago, who knew better about wines than I did at that time. We left this store and he told me that the cost of this wine is no more than $ 12 per bottle and it was definitely not produced in the South of France, as we were promised. So, I really bought into the prestige tales of the drink and was impressed by its cost. I want to say one thing, if you are interested in the taste of wine, do not look at the price, trust your senses”.
“This is a vivid example of how society depends on brands..” said Petr Brazhnikov. We often do not consider the product for its quality, paying attention only to the name on the sticker of this product. Mass media create an information field that makes us believe in the quality of low-quality products, offering us only an alternative from the same list of promoted goods.
In the area of wine, alas, we face the same problem. Only personal experience and age-old traditions of quality – these are the fundamental things on which I am guided now.
