Study suggests wine drinkers are swayed more by labels than flavour

You can’t judge a book by its cover but you can judge a wine by its label it seems after the American Association of Wine Economists who advise vineries to invest more in labelling than pressing grapes.

An Association investigation discovered that novices were able to determine a wines value without even uncorking it, they simply observed the quality of the drawings and type of words used.

The study revealed that non connoisseurs have developed an effective process of judgement which relates abstract art, landscape and words such as “supple”, “velvety” and “smoky” with expensive bottles. Images of animals meanwhile, alongside words such as “light”, “fresh” and “pleasing” were found to reference lower class goods.

Critically, this mental arithmetic (and not the wines flavour) was found to be the determining factor in a drinker’s enjoyment with people turning their noses up at perceived cheap drinks whilst quaffing apparently expensive brands.

Previous studies have unearthed an inability amongst the public to differentiate between cheap plonk and connoisseur wines with blind tasters unable to distinguish the most expensive ranges from the cheapest, with a bias toward preference of the lowest cost varieties evident.