WINE CONSUMER TRADE-OFF BETWEEN ORGANOLEPTIC CHARACTERISTICS AND SUSTAINABLE CLAIMS. AN EXPERIMENT ON RED WINES FROM BORDEAUX REGION
Abstract
In economics, the perception of wine quality is not limited to sensorial characteristics: an indication of the region of production significantly affects the perception of quality and consumers’ WTP ([1]; [2]). However, [3] or more recently [4] show that even if a wine has an organic label, the taste of wine remains the predominant criterion in consumer preferences. The contribution of our experiment is to evaluate the impact of responsible attributes (organic label, Non Added Sulfites, HVE certification) on the appreciation of several red wines on the market. More than 280 consumers participated to the present study and they perform 25 tastings divided into 5 different sessions. 20 different red wines from Bordeaux Area are tasted.
We used sensory analysis and experimental economics techniques in order to evaluate the liking and willingness to pay of consumers, according to previous works describing this technique for wine market [5].
The main interest of this paper remains the evaluation of wine by sensorial analysis and experimental auctions. In a context of increasing responsible initiatives in the wine sector, the design and results of this study bring some insights on the important issue of consumer preferences for red wines and their trade-offs between the different wine attributes. Results show that consumer expectations for corporate responsibility labeling are growing. However, the share of consumers who actually value it is small. In addition, the sensory quality of the wine remains a primary expectation.
DOI:
Issue: OENO Macrowine 2023
Type: Article
Authors
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Keywords
Experimental Economics, Consumer preferences, Willingness to pay, Sustainability