Our readings regarding the influence of category on perceived quality of wine reminded me of a similar study. This study examined price as a category indicative of wine quality. GSB Professor Baba Shiv and others at the California Institute of Technology used an fMRI to show that the areas of the brain associated with pleasure lit up more when drinking (the same wine) priced at $45 rather than $5. In other words, people found the same wine more enjoyable when they thought it cost more. It may be easy to discount this study based on its small and homogenous sample size of a mere 11 male graduate students - hardly a model for empirical research. But there have been numerous other studies that have led to these same results. Even experts have been documented in some instances to be unable to tell the difference between a red wine and a white wine dyed with red food coloring. This reflects a theme similar to that suggested by the readings: that our judgement and enjoyment of wine are influenced by categories such as price, organic and biodynamic.
This fascinates me because it calls into question our ability to objectively quantify and judge the quality of wine. Past a certain point of quality (obviously few will mistake Grgich for Two Buck Chuck), it appears that beauty is in the tongue of the critic; calling up images of fictitious tastemakers Ellsworth Toohey of The Fountainhead (deepest apologies for this reference but it holds) or better yet, Anton Ego from Ratatouille. People seem to feel that wine is something they are ill-equipped to form their own opinions about, and so they look to critics and labels to help in shaping those opinions. This plasticity of opinion creates very interesting opportunities from a business standpoint as they underscore the importance of brand strength and critical approval. I look forward to exploring these topics more through the lens of the wine industry.
https://www.wired.com/2011/04/should-we-buy-expensive-wine/
https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/baba-shiv-how-wines-price-tag-affect-its-taste
http://www.daysyn.com/Morrot.pdf
Thoughtful post, Lesley!
ReplyDeleteYou helped get my wheels turning, however, about my own personal experience with taste preferences. Thus, I want to push past marketing and the plasticity of personal opinion for a minute to posit back to you: Are some wines objectively good and others not?
Personally, I've made a surprising discovery in recent months. I, a mere novice, have enjoyed 2 blind tastings with friends in this community and was able to precisely ascertain each wine's relative price ranking in both evening's forced ranking contest. I got 100% correct, 5 wines, 5 different price categories, 2 separate occasions. Now, this isn't (entirely) braggadocio and an N=2 is not very robust, but could there be something at play other than just lucky guessing? I can tell you that everyone present for the blind tastings could identify the 2 Buck Chuck. However, it is also true that not everyone could identify the highest-end wine. I wonder, then, if there's a certain threshold at which our brains and palates can distinguish "good" wines from "bad," but above that threshold it becomes a taste buds' preferential grab-bag (and brand manager and marketer's play-pen)? And, alas, my major concern in all of this is that perhaps I prefer pricey wines, somehow regardless of prestige or pomp. If only my preferences suited my budgetary constraints...
My proposed solution: Let's do some blind tasting and collect some much needed data in this interesting debate! (I believe Alyssa mentioned we might try this in a future lecture - but I am willing to do research outside of class if it is all in the name of science, and such)
I agree that some wines are objectively good and some are bad. My post was more about research suggesting that knowledge of higher price increases enjoyment - not that quality is impossible to discern. I don't doubt that you were able to determine which wine belonged to what price category. I am more interested in whether your enjoyment of a given wine would have been higher had you thought that wine cost more.
DeleteI love this post, Lesley. If it is indeed true that people enjoy the same wine even more when they think it costs more, I'm curious how players in the wine industry can (should?) exploit this phenomenon when building a (profitable) wine business.
ReplyDeleteIs this expensive-is-more-enjoyable phenomenon true at every price level? Or is it relatively more (or less) true depending on if you are talking about $5 vs. $50 vs. $500 bottles?
Thanks Win! I am curious about the same thing. It seems like a delicate balance to strike. And the articles I read did not talk about an increased willingness to pay for the added enjoyment brought by more expensive bottles - just that they are more enjoyable. It goes back to the categories we were discussing 2 classes ago, and the questions regarding their influence on price and demand.
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