Influence of culture on social representation of wines produced by various methods: Natural,organic and conventional

The overall aim of the present study was to investigate the social representation of wines produced by various methods of wine production, in particular in relation to the concept of Distance to the Object (DO). The DO concept postulates that some participants will have a greater knowledge of the object (wine), feel more involved with it, and develop more practices related to wine, than other participants. We compared the social representations of French and New Zealanders of two levels of domain specific expertise (wine professionals; wine consumers) concerning three wine types, natural wine, organic wine, and conventionally-produced wine. Via a preliminary study, we validated our DO questionnaire. In the main analysis, results demonstrated French participants to have a higher level of involvement in wine than New Zealanders, and professionals to have higher levels on involvement, personal identification and capacity for action than consumers. New Zealanders expressed more knowledge and levels of practices than the French, and professionals more than consumers did. Results also showed that organic wine produced the most structured representations (i.e., participants more often quoted the same words) followed by natural wines, with conventional-wine representation the least structured. French participants’ representations were more structured than New Zealanders, and consumers’ representations more structured than those of professionals. Finally, by drawing on data concerning the frequencies, rank and valence of the words evoked by participants, we demonstrated differences in the content of participants’ social representations as a function of wine-production method, culture, and level of domain-specific expertise, demonstrating how these variables influence wine representation.     

Impact of partial alcohol reduction in Syrah wine on perceived complexity and temporality of sensations and link with preference

Complexity is often stated as a mark of wine quality but there are no quantitative data supporting this assumption. The effect of partial alcohol reduction on the perceived complexity, temporality of sensations and liking of a Syrah wine was investigated.An Australian Syrah wine was partially dealcoholized using the reverse osmosis technique to obtain five wines with different alcohol content (13.5–8%). 71 French wine consumers evaluated their liking for these wines as well as the perceived intensity of overall complexity and eight items reported to be linked to perceived complexity in wine (familiarity, persistence, etc.) using continuous scales, anchored with pictures (Medel, Viala, Meillon, Urbano, & Schlich, 2009). In addition, eight trained panelists described temporality of sensations in the same wines with the Temporal Dominance of Sensations (TDS) method. The overall complexity scale was well understood by consumers with a significant discrimination of wines according to their alcohol content. Wines with higher alcohol content were perceived as more complex, persistent, strong and with many aromas. They were associated to more complex temporal sensory profiles, with many sensations that blend in-mouth along time.     

Exploring the nature of wine expertise: what underlies wine experts' olfactory recognition memory advantage?

To source the locus of the recognition memory advantage demonstrated by wine experts in a previous study [Chem. Senses 27 (2002) 747], we investigated recognition of wine-relevant odours as a function of wine expertise and type of encoding of the to-be-remembered odorants. Fourteen wine experts and 14 wine novices participated in tasks measuring olfactory threshold, odour recognition, and odour identification. Odour recognition memory was investigated as a function of type of encoding task, namely whether participants were required to identify an odorant or to judge an odorant in terms of its pleasantness. Wine-relevant odorants were sampled orthonasally by each participant in the semantic (identification), hedonic (pleasantness rating), and episodic (recognition) memory tasks. Results showed superior olfactory recognition by expert wine judges, despite their olfactory sensitivity, bias measures, and odour-identification ability being similar to those of novices. Contrary to a prediction that wine experts' recognition memory would not be influenced by type of odorant-encoding task, while novices' recognition memory would be inhibited by forced naming of odorants, both groups' olfactory recognition was facilitated by identifying odorants relative to judging odorants in terms of pleasantness. Ability to recognise odours and ability to name odours were not positively correlated, although novices' data showed a trend in this direction. The results imply that the source of superior odour recognition memory in wine experts was not due to enhanced semantic memory and linguistic capabilities for wine-relevant odours, but perceptual skill (e.g., olfactory imaging).     

Wine Expertise Predicts Taste Phenotype

Taste phenotypes have long been studied in relation to alcohol intake, dependence, and family history, with contradictory findings. However, on balance - with appropriate caveats about populations tested, outcomes measured and psychophysical methods used - an association between variation in taste responsiveness and some alcohol behaviors is supported. Recent work suggests super-tasting (operationalized via propylthiouracil (PROP) bitterness) not only associates with heightened response but also with more acute discrimination between stimuli. Here, we explore relationships between food and beverage adventurousness and taste phenotype. A convenience sample of wine drinkers (n=330) were recruited in Ontario and phenotyped for PROP bitterness via filter paper disk. They also filled out a short questionnaire regarding willingness to try new foods, alcoholic beverages and wines as well as level of wine involvement, which was used to classify them as a wine expert (n=110) or wine consumer (n=220). In univariate logisitic models, food adventurousness predicted trying new wines and beverages but not expertise. Likewise, wine expertise predicted willingness to try new wines and beverages but not foods. In separate multivariate logistic models, willingness to try new wines and beverages was predicted by expertise and food adventurousness but not PROP. However, mean PROP bitterness was higher among wine experts than wine consumers, and the conditional distribution functions differed between experts and consumers. In contrast, PROP means and distributions did not differ with food adventurousness. These data suggest individuals may self-select for specific professions based on sensory ability (i.e., an active gene-environment correlation) but phenotype does not explain willingness to try new stimuli.     

Extrinsic attributes responsible for red wine quality perception: A cross-cultural study between France and Spain

Understanding quality perception requires focusing both on product proprieties and consumers’ representations. The goal of this study was to access the representations of perceived extrinsic wine quality of consumers from two different wine regions in two European countries with an important wine tradition: La Rioja-RJ-(Spain) and Côtes du Rhône-CdR-(France).Twenty commercial red wines (ten from RJ and ten from CdR) were evaluated in terms of quality by means of a categorization task. Ninety-five French and 93 Spanish consumers had to categorize the 20 wines according to four levels of quality going from very low to very high quality.Three clusters of French and two of Spanish consumers have been identified. Country-of-origin of wine arises as the most important extrinsic cue for less-involved French and Spanish consumers, while more-involved consumers with higher knowledge in wine are able to interpret and use a wider range of cues. Consumers’ knowledge, involvement and nationality appear to be good predictors of quality perception.These results are relevant for the field of sensory analysis in that they help understanding the construction of quality perception. The wine industry can benefit also from these results, especially when exporting wines. This cross-cultural study may help them to develop marketing strategies able to enhance the quality perception of wines and to make use of different extrinsic factors.     

Do wine experts share the same mental representation? A drawing elicitation study with wine makers,sellers, and critics

Wine experts’ mental representations have often been studied by comparing experts and novices without differentiating between the types of experts. Yet, it seemed that experts developed skills through their training and practice, and thus may have different wine representations. The first objective of this study was to examine the effect of experts’ background and actual occupation on their wine representation. Beaujolais was used as a case study as this vineyard was in constant evolution with the emergence of new mentions such as Pierres Dorées. The second objective was to evaluate how new information was integrated in experts’ mental representation. Three panels were recruited: wine makers, wine sellers, and wine critics. To access their mental representations, a drawing elicitation method was combined with an interview. The results highlighted a common structure in the representations of experts based on two poles: the first pole was linked to the environment and the vineyard, and the second pole was linked to the intrinsic aspects of wines. This universal mental representation of wine would be based on the experts' long-term memory knowledge acquired during training. Some differences linked to the experts’ profession, experience and exposure were also observed. These differences could be explained in terms of perceptual learning. Through shared experiences and exposures, experts with similar occupations and backgrounds developed similar mental representations (e.g., wine makers or wine sellers). Conversely, despite a common occupation, experts with a different experience, practice and background developed idiosyncratic wine representations (e.g., wine critics).     

TENDERNESS, pH AND ACCEPTABILITY OF MEAT FROM PODOLIAN AND LIMOUSINE × PODOLIAN YOUNG BULLS

The relationships between meat pH, sensory tenderness and acceptability for Podolian (P) and Limousine  ×  Podolian (LP) beef were investigated. Negative linear relationships between pH measured at each of 1, 24 and 48 h post mortem and sensory tenderness were found at 2 ( P <  0.001) and 7 days of ageing ( P <  0.05). At 7 days of ageing, sensory tenderness was higher ( P <  0.001) than that at 2 days of ageing. LP beef showed higher sensory tenderness ( P <  0.001) than P. The regression between perceived tenderness and acceptability was separately calculated for LP and P beef. Both were significant ( P <  0.01 and P <  0.001, respectively). In addition, a significant difference was observed between the two regression coefficients ( P <  0.05), indicating that the two variables were more associated for P than LP beef.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Meat acceptability is obviously related to tenderness. More interestingly, other factors (e.g., familiarity, age, etc.) can affect product acceptability. In fact, the same product can be perceived by some consumers as being tough, whereas it can be considered tender by others, corresponding to low and high levels of acceptability, respectively. Therefore, along with treatments aimed to increase tenderness (e.g., ageing), information about the product, age and familiarity of consumers, etc., can increase the acceptability of meats, which are less tender because of their intrinsic properties.     

A preliminary study of the relationship between Australian wine consumers' wine expertise and their wine purchasing and consumption behaviour

Few Australian wine companies have the resources to acquire consumer relevant information to assist their strategic decision-making. This exploratory study examined the relationship between Australian consumers' wine expertise and their self-reported wine related behaviours, such as wine purchasing and consumption. A measure of consumer wine expertise developed specifically for the Australian consumer, comprising a wine knowledge test and an aroma identification (sensory) test, was used to segment 61 wine consumers into three expertise levels. A large positive correlation between wine expertise and formal wine training was demonstrated. Data showed that females dominated the low and males the high expertise groups, respectively. The high expertise level consumers spent more on wine, purchased more bottles and fewer casks per month and consumed more wine in a week than the low and medium expertise groups. Analysis revealed significant differences between the styles of wine consumed by the various expertise levels. A combination of Factor and Cluster analyses generated three distinct consumer segment profiles based on wine purchase drivers. These preliminary data indicate that wine consumers' wine behaviour may be influenced by their wine expertise.     

The influence of yeast on the aroma of Sauvignon Blanc wine

The main objective of this study was to investigate the effect of different Saccharomyces cerevisiae wine yeast strains on the concentration of aroma-enhancing volatile thiols and fermentation metabolites in Sauvignon Blanc wine. Seven commercial wine yeast strains were selected based on their putative ability to modulate the concentrations of the fruity volatile thiols, 4-mercapto-4-methylpentan-2-one (4MMP), 3-mercapto-hexanol (3MH) and 3-mercapto-hexylacetate (3MHA). Each of these yeasts was used to produce Sauvignon Blanc wines under controlled conditions, in triplicate, in 20-L quantities. The levels of 4MMP, 3MH and 3MHA in these wines were quantified using the p-hydroxymercuribenzoate method. In addition, a total of 24 volatile yeast-derived fermentation aroma compounds were also quantified using headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography mass spectrometry (HS-SPME–GC–MS). Formal sensory analysis was conducted by 12 trained assessors and, additionally, a panel of 24 experienced wine industry professionals assessed the wines and ranked them in order of preference. The results indicated that the yeast strains varied significantly in terms of their capabilities to (i) produce volatile thiols and fermentation metabolites; and (ii) to modulate the varietal characters of Sauvignon Blanc wine. Yeast strains that produced the highest levels of volatile thiols were responsible for wines with the highest perceived intensity of fruitiness, and these wines were preferred by the tasting panels. While the ‘green’ characters in Sauvignon Blanc wines can be manipulated through vineyard management, the ‘tropical fruity’ characters appear to be largely dependent on the wine yeast strain used during fermentation. Therefore, the choice of yeast strain offers great potential to modulate wine aroma profiles to definable styles and predetermined consumer market specifications.     

The production and consumer perception of sparkling wines of different carbonation levels

The objective of this study was to determine the influence of carbonation level on the sensory and chemical properties of traditional sparkling wine and identify the level of carbonation that could be perceived by consumers. Sparkling wine treatments (n?=?11) were produced through the addition of different concentrations of dextrose at bottling to create sparkling wines varying in carbonation (CO₂) level. Final wines ranged in CO₂ concentration from 0 to 7.5?g?CO₂/L (p?≤?.05). A consumer sensory evaluation panel (n?=?48) evaluated the wines using a paired comparison test in which a sparkling wine at CO₂ concentrations of 1.2, 2.0, 4.0, 5.8, or 7.5?g CO₂/L was compared to the control sparkling wine (0?g CO₂/L) for mouthfeel attributes (carbonation and bite) and sour taste. Results showed significant differences (p?≤?.001) between the control and sparkling wines containing 2.0, 4.0, 5.8, and 7.5?CO₂/L for the mouthfeel attributes of carbonation and bite, suggesting that a minimum CO₂ concentration of >1.2?g?CO₂/L was required for consumers to detect mouthfeel differences compared to the control. The results of this study provide sparkling winemakers and manufacturers of other carbonated products with information regarding the level of CO₂ perceived by consumers of sparkling wines.     

The influence of involvement on purchase intention for new world wine

Understanding the ways in which consumers’ involvement levels influence how they use different cues to make purchase decisions has been a topic of research for several decades. This study, which provides a specific extension to the more general study by Lockshin et al. [Lockshin, L., Wade, J., d’Hauteville, F., & Perrouty, J. P. (2006). Using simulations from discrete choice experiments to measure consumer sensitivity to brand, region, price, and awards in wine choice. Food Quality and Preference, 17(3–4) 166–178] examines the moderating effects of wine product involvement and wine purchase involvement on wine purchase decisions. A sample of 187 New Zealand regular wine consumers participated in a conjoint experiment using the variety New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. The product stimuli were defined by three attributes: (i) presence/absence of region of origin information, (ii) price level, and (iii) presence/absence of a price discount. Purchase intention ratings, which were analysed using multiple regression and non-parametric bootstraps, suggested that the cue pertaining to information about region of origin was more important for consumers high in product involvement and purchase involvement than for consumers with low levels of involvement. There was also some evidence to suggest that consumers who are high in product involvement place less importance on price and, that consumers who are low in purchase involvement place greater importance on price discounts.