Context and wine quality effects on consumers' mood, emotions, liking and willingness to pay for Australian Shiraz wines

Three decades of research on wine marketing

The goal of this study is to provide a comprehensive review of the academic research into wine marketing over the last three decades. Data from 1135 wine marketing-related research documents published 1990-2022 in the Web of Science and Scopus databases were employed. Using mainly co-word analysis and bibliographic coupling, the key themes of the discipline were identified. A longitudinal analysis identified the topic's evolution and current research trends. Results show that wine marketing research has grown sharply in recent years. From the pioneering studies that examined consumers' behaviours and wine price drivers, the discipline evolved to address burgeoning themes such as sustainability, social media (digital marketing) and wine tourism, which evidences the interest that academics have shown in enhancing knowledge in the area.

Do we really remember the view? The cellar door schema and its contribution to memorable experiences: Recommendations for cellar door practices

The importance of enjoyable, memorable cellar door experiences is well-established in the literature. The winescape, which incorporates views, building design, and ambience is recognised as a central motivation for wine tourism and the most repeated content in word-of-mouth communication, a valuable marketing tool. Recent research has prioritised human interaction, which develops a connection as the most important component of the cellar door experience (d'Ament, Nayeem, & Saliba, 2022). The current study expands previous research methodologies, adopting memory work and cellar door surveys in a mixed methods approach to explore the cellar door schema and its influence on cellar door expectations, assessments, purchases, and future positive word-of-mouth communication. A constructivist grounded theory approach was adopted to analyse participant memories. A Bayesian network was produced from 136 cellar door surveys to determine the influence of cellar door schema on purchases and intention to engage in word-of-mouth communication. The results supported recent findings that the human element is the most remembered and valued; it fosters a connection, strengthens brand attachment and creates enduring customers. The winescape, while important for grounding the memory, is less prominent in recollections. Additionally, the results demonstrate the importance of word-of-mouth as a contributor to cellar door schemas. Recommendations are made for cellar door managers and staff who strive to create memorable cellar door experiences for their customers.

Consumer testing away from a sensory facility: Application of home-use test and no-contact home-use test

COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions for approximately three years have heavily influenced sensory evaluations. People have become accustomed to working remotely and communicating online. This has led to opportunities in sensory testing paired with logistics systems and information technologies, resulting in a wide application of the home-use test (HUT), wherein panelists evaluate samples from their homes or other off-site locations. This study aimed to compare three sensory evaluation conditions: a central location test (CLT, n = 104), a HUT (n = 120), and a no-contact HUT (N-HUT, n = 111). We recruited participants via the local community website, delivered samples using a delivery service, and conducted sensory testing using a smartphone for the N-HUT. Participants were requested to report the acceptance ratings, sensory profiles, and emotion responses to four coffee samples. Some differences in the acceptance ratings might be due to the different attitudes participating in the evaluation. In the sensory profiling of the samples, multi-factor analysis (MFA) revealed highly similar sensory characteristics across the three types of tests. All RV coefficients (RVs) among the test conditions were above 0.93. The emotion responses to coffee samples were similar among test conditions based on the MFA with RV values greater than 0.84. In conclusion, we found that N-HUT produced similar results regarding the descriptions of sensory profiles and emotions, indicating that N-HUT is a suitable test method for collecting sensory data and overcoming CLT and HUT's regional limitations. Modern logistics systems and information technologies make it possible to conduct nationwide sensory evaluations without in-person contact or participant attendance at sensory testing facilities.

Preparation and quality evaluation of sardines sauce rich in omega-3 using the combination of pineapple fruit extracts and fermentation times

A present study aimed at evaluating sardine sauce quality used a treatment combination of pineapple fruit extract, and fermentation times. It used a completely randomized design with a factorial pattern. The results showed a pineapple fruit extracts and fermentation times affected significantly on sardine sauce quality (P < 0.05). There was an interaction between pineapple fruit extract and fermentation times on sardine sauce quality. A pineapple fruit extract of 10% and fermentation times of 13 days produced sardine sauce best quality, with a protein content (17.38%), moisture (74.45%), omega-3 (19.68%), pH (5.23), taste value of 3.68, color of 4.52, and aroma of 2.99, respectively, but, consumers did not like it so much. It has passed a National Standard of Indonesia, which sets the minimum level of protein of 5%, and pH ranges from 5.0 to 6.0.

Emoji as promising tools for emotional evaluation in orthodontics

Background

Emoji are pictograms frequently used in social networks capable of expressing emotions. These tools can provide insights into people's behavior that could not be obtained with the use of textual communication. Recently, emoji have been introduced to various research fields as successful alternatives to word-based questionnaires for measure emotional responses. The objective of this study was to preliminarily evaluate the discriminating ability and relationship of these tools with different occlusal conditions/malocclusions.

Methods

Online surveys were applied to adult individuals (n = 201; mean age = 27.4 ± 5.7; 37.3% males, 62.7% females). Subjects issued acceptance scores (10-point scale) and expressed their emotional status using a 30-emoji list in relation to nine occlusal conditions: C1–crowding, C2–anterior open bite, C3–interincisal diastema, C4–increased overjet + deep bite (Class II div. 1), C5–anterior crossbite (Class III), C6–ideal occlusion, C7–unilateral posterior crossbite, C8–anterior open bite plus bilateral posterior crossbite plus crowding, and C9–deep bite (Class II div. 2). Cochran's Q and McNemar tests were used to compare the frequencies of choice of emoji between conditions. Correspondence analyses were applied to assess the association between occlusal conditions and emoji. Kendall's correlation coefficient was calculated to evaluate the relationship between mean acceptance scores and frequency counts of each emoji.

Results

The frequency of choice between conditions showed a significant difference for 25 of the 30 emoji (P < 0.05), indicating an adequate discriminating ability of these tools. Emoji were grouped predominantly based on their emotional valence (positive/negative) and arousal/activation (high/low). Positive emoji were associated with the most accepted conditions (i.e., C6, C3), while negative emoji with the most rejected ones (i.e., C8, C1, C2). Although only weak, positive correlations between acceptance and positively valenced emoji, and negative correlations between acceptance and negatively valenced emoji were observed (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

Emoji have an adequate discriminatory ability and would allow determining emotional profiles in the face of different occlusal conditions. Further research is necessary to consolidate the use of these tools in an instrument that allows measuring emotional responses.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40510-022-00418-3.

E-Senses, Panel Tests and Wearable Sensors: A Teamwork for Food Quality Assessment and Prediction of Consumer’s Choices

At present, food quality is of utmost importance, not only to comply with commercial regulations, but also to meet the expectations of consumers; this aspect includes sensory features capable of triggering emotions through the citizen’s perception. To date, key parameters for food quality assessment have been sought through analytical methods alone or in combination with a panel test, but the evaluation of panelists’ reactions via psychophysiological markers is now becoming increasingly popular. As such, the present review investigates recent applications of traditional and novel methods to the specific field. These include electronic senses (e-nose, e-tongue, and e-eye), sensory analysis, and wearables for emotion recognition. Given the advantages and limitations highlighted throughout the review for each approach (both traditional and innovative ones), it was possible to conclude that a synergy between traditional and innovative approaches could be the best way to optimally manage the trade-off between the accuracy of the information and feasibility of the investigation. This evidence could help in better planning future investigations in the field of food sciences, providing more reliable, objective, and unbiased results, but it also has important implications in the field of neuromarketing related to edible compounds.

Building Status in an Online Community

We argue that the actions for which actors receive recognition vary as they move up the hierarchy. When actors first enter a community, the community rewards them for their easier-to-evaluate contributions to the community. Eventually, however, as these actors rise in status, further increases in stature come increasingly from engaging in actions that are more difficult to evaluate or even impossible to judge. These dynamics produce a positive feedback loop, in which those who have already been accorded some stature garner even greater status through quality-ambiguous actions. We present evidence from Stack Overflow, an online community, and from two online experiments consistent with these expected patterns.

Consumer perspectives of wine typicity and impact of region information on the sensory perception of Cabernet Sauvignon wines

Region of origin is used in marketing of wine and by consumers as a wine quality indicator. To better understand wine consumers' purchase decisions, sensory perception, and wine liking in connection with wine provenance, this study used regular wine consumers (n = 112) to evaluate two Cabernet Sauvignon wines from each of four wine producing regions through hedonic rating and rate-all-that-apply (RATA) testing in conjunction with pre- and post-tasting questionnaires. The majority of consumers rated the region of origin stated on the label as important for purchase intent and for deciding the price they were willing to pay for a wine. The questionnaire also revealed that consumers were familiar with the wine typicity concept, but seemed to consider it only as an extrinsic characteristic rather than an intrinsic aspect of the wine. By randomly dividing the consumers into two groups (n = 56 each), one having information on the origin of samples and the other tasting without such knowledge, it was demonstrated that origin information had a positive impact on hedonic scores. Sensory profiling revealed that origin information did not impact the sample sensory characterisation, and liking for both groups was related to 'full body', 'jammy', and 'dark fruits' attributes. Some regional profile features were apparent for the samples, such as 'minty' for Coonawarra and savoury attributes for Bordeaux. Overall, this work highlighted that consumers could differentiate wines from distinct regions on the basis of sensory characteristics.

Effect of Lactic Acid Fermentation on Volatile Compounds and Sensory Characteristics of Mango (Mangifera indica) Juices

Fermentation is a sustainable bio-preservation technique that can improve the organoleptic quality of fruit juices. Mango juices were fermented by monoculture strains of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum subsp. plantarum (MLP), Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus (MLR), Lacticaseibacillus casei (MLC), Levilactobacillus brevis (MLB), and Pediococcus pentosaceus (MPP). Volatile compounds were sorbed using headspace solid phase microextraction, separated, and identified with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Forty-four (44) volatile compounds were identified. The control, MPP, and MLB had higher amounts of ethyl acetate, ethyl butyrate, 2-hexenal, 2,6-nonadienal, 2,2-dimethylpropanal, β-selinene, γ-gurjunene, α-copaene, and δ-cadinene, while MLC, MLP, and MLR had higher amounts of 2,3-butanedione and a cyclic hydrocarbon derivate. Consumers (n = 80) assessed their overall liking and characterized sensory attributes (appearance, color, aroma, flavor, consistency, acidity, and sweetness) using check-all-that-apply, and penalty analysis (just-about-right). Overall liking was associated with ‘mango color’, ‘pulp’, ‘mango aroma’, ‘sweet’, ‘natural taste’, and ‘mango flavor’ that described the control, MLB, MLC and MPP. Juices MLR and MLP were described as ‘bitter’, ‘sour’, ‘aftertaste’, and ‘off-flavor’. Multivariate analysis revealed relationships between the volatile compounds, mango juices fermented by different lactic acid bacteria, and sensory characteristics. Thus, the type of lactic acid bacteria strains determined the volatile and sensory profile of mango juices.

An Overview of Sensory Characterization Techniques: From Classical Descriptive Analysis to the Emergence of Novel Profiling Methods

Sensory science provides objective information about the consumer understanding of a product, the acceptance or rejection of stimuli, and the description of the emotions evoked. It is possible to answer how consumers perceive a product through discriminative and descriptive techniques. However, perception can change over time, and these fluctuations can be measured with time-intensity methods. Instrumental sensory devices and immersive techniques are gaining headway as sensory profiling techniques. The authors of this paper critically review sensory techniques from classical descriptive analysis to the emergence of novel profiling methods. Though research has been done in the creation of new sensory methods and comparison of those methods, little attention has been given to the timeline approach and its advantages and challenges. This study aimed to gather, explain, simplify, and discuss the evolution of sensory techniques.

Investigating the relative merits of using a mixed reality context for measuring affective response and predicting tea break snack choice

Sensory evaluation for the investigation of food consumption is often conducted in a controlled laboratory environment, which does not reflect consumption behaviour in real world. Here, we compared the effect of consumption setting (traditional sensory booth, mixed reality projection café, and a café) on consumer affective responses, and to investigate the effectiveness of using Microsoft HoloLens technology, an Augmented Mixed Reality device, as an ecologically valid alternative to natural consumption eating for sensory evaluation. Participant [(n = 120): 86 females/34 males, aged 18-65 years] affective response (overall liking, attribute liking, emotional response, and snack choice) towards two commercially available tea break snacks (caramel slice and chocolate digestive biscuit) was assessed in three different consumption settings using a balanced crossover design. There were no significant differences for most affective ratings between data obtained from the HoloLens evoked café and real café (p ≥ 0.10), suggesting that mixed reality could provide an ecologically valid context for consumer research. However, response differences were observed between these two contexts and the sensory booths. For example, interested, joy, enthusiastic emotion terms were rated slightly higher in the evoked café in comparison to the booth context and slightly higher emotional engagement was observed for joy in the café compared to the booths (all p < .10). This study highlights key considerations for deciding where consumer testing should be conducted and the importance of using a combination of overall liking, attribute liking and emotional response to obtain data representative of real-world environments in consumer studies.

Do Consumers Want Seaweed in Their Food? A Study Evaluating Emotional Responses to Foods Containing Seaweed

Seaweeds are nutrient-dense marine organisms that have been proposed as a key ingredient to produce new functional foods. This study's first objective was to identify consumers' emotional responses and purchase intent towards a variety of food products containing seaweed. The secondary objective was to evaluate how hunger status and lifestyle affect consumers' emotional responses. Participants (n = 108) were asked to evaluate pictures of different food items containing seaweed (beef burger, cheddar cheese, fettuccine, fish filet, sausage, bread, yogurt, and dried seaweed) using the CATA variant of EsSense25 Profile® and a purchase-intent scale. The consumers also answered questions about their hunger status, food neophobia, food-related lifestyle, as well as open-ended comment questions about seaweed. Participants' purchase-intent scores were highest for bread and dried seaweed, which they associated with positive emotions. The participants disliked yogurt and sausage, indicating that they were disgusted with them. Participants believed seaweed could be added to fish, savoury, and cereal grains-based foods. The participants' hunger status as well as their food neophobia and lifestyle impacted their emotional responses. Future research should continue to investigate how emotions affect purchase intent, how participant's hunger status affects their emotions, and how participants' lifestyle changes how they perceive new food products.

Carbonated emotions: Consumers' sensory perception and emotional response to carbonated and still fruit juices

The global carbonated beverage market is large, and consumers like the oral irritation (ex. burning or prickling) associated with carbonated beverages. This study's first objective was to identify the effect of carbonation on consumers' liking and sensory perception of fruit juices (apple, cherry, and blueberry). The secondary aim was to evaluate consumers' emotional responses to carbonated fruit juices. The first trial asked consumers (n = 103) to use check-all-that-apply (CATA) and nine-point hedonic scales to evaluate six fruit juices (three carbonated and three non-carbonated). In the second trial, consumers (n = 107) were asked to evaluate the pictures of the same juices using the CATA variant of EsSense25 Profile® and a purchase intent scale. The consumers were also asked to identify what they like and dislike about carbonated beverages using an open-ended comment question. The first trial demonstrated that flavour significantly affected the overall liking scores but also identified that carbonation increased the overall liking of the blueberry and apple juices (p < 0.05). In the emotional response trial, the participants did not separate the samples based on carbonation, but rather separated the blueberry juices from the cherry and apple juices. The penalty lift analysis identified that when positive emotions were selected, the participants' purchase intent increased. Lastly, the consumers identified they like mouthfeel and flavour-enhancing qualities of carbonated beverages and associated them with special events. However, the participants disliked beverages that are too carbonated or flat and associated carbonated beverages with negative physical sensations and health perceptions. Overall, the flavour was more important than if the beverage was carbonated or not and purchase intent scores increased when positive emotions were perceived. Future research should investigate how emotions affect purchase intent, how participant's familiarity affects the emotions they select and evaluate how carbonation affects other beverages.

Exploring the Effects of Immersive Virtual Reality Environments on Sensory Perception of Beef Steaks and Chocolate

Virtual reality (VR) technology is emerging as a tool for simulating different eating environments to better understand consumer sensory response to food. This research explored the impact of different environmental contexts on participants' hedonic ratings of two different food products: beef steaks, and milk chocolate, using VR as the context-enhancing technology. Two separate studies were conducted. For beef, two different contextual conditions were compared: traditional sensory booths and a VR restaurant. For chocolate, data were generated under three different contextual conditions: traditional sensory booths, VR Irish countryside; VR busy city (Dublin, Ireland). All VR experiences were 360-degree video based. Consumer level of engagement in the different contextual settings was also investigated. The results showed that VR had a significant effect on participants' hedonic responses to the food products. Beef was rated significantly higher in terms of liking for all sensory attributes when consumed in the VR restaurant. While for chocolate, the VR countryside context generated significantly higher hedonic scores for flavour and overall liking in comparison to the sensory booth. Taken together, both studies demonstrate how specific contextual settings can impact participants' sensory response to food products, when compared to a traditional sensory laboratory condition.

Exploring young consumers' attitudes and emotions to sensory and physicochemical properties of different red wines

To gain deeper understanding on young consumers' attitudes and preferences to wines is needed to connect wine industry with the youth. The aims of the present study were (i) to define 'trendy wine' for young consumers and (ii) to identify chemical drivers of liking in red wines for the youth. The study was divided in two phases: phase I explored young consumers' attitudes towards wines using an online survey, and phase II studied the relationship between hedonic and emotional responses elicited by 12 red wine samples and their physico-chemical characteristics. Consumers' responses and physico-chemical data were related using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Results of the online survey showed that trendy wines were associated to: sparkling, soft, fresh, fruity, sweet, light, and balanced wines. Also, young consumers reported that, although flavor was considered the most important attribute, price and Protected Designation of Origin could be valuable attributes. PCA results of phase II showed that wines with a lower ratio [total polyphenol index/polysaccharides] were more liked and elicited more positive emotions than wines with higher total polyphenol index, color intensity, volatile acidity, and alcohol content. Liking and positive emotions were positively related to higher Odor Activity Values of the volatile compounds from the organic acids group. The presence of benzenoids and lactones, and the lower presence of terpenoids & norisoprenoids were associated with negative emotions. In conclusion, red wines should be soft (described as lower ratio [total polyphenol index/polysaccharides]), and have floral, and fruity aromas to better connect with young consumers.

Is knowledge emotion? The subjective emotional responses to wines depend on level of self-reported expertise and sensitivity to key information about the wine

Many factors influence emotional responses evoked by wines. Here we assessed how self-reported wine expertise, tasting condition (blind vs. informed) as well as sensitivity to key information about wines (e.g., reputation, price, grape variety) impact the subjective affective responses they evoked. We measured subjective affective responses of high and low in self-reported wine expertise consumers to 8 different wines in a blind tasting and in a tasting when information about the wines was known. After their first tasting session, we asked participants the extent to which they considered specific information when they intended to purchase wine (e.g., reputation, etc.). The more wine consumers high in self-reported expertise paid attention to the wine's reputation, the less they used feelings when tasting wines. In contrast, the more the wine tasters low in self-reported expertise paid attention to the wine's reputation, the more feelings they reported. Moreover, when considering positive and negative feelings separately, it appears that the more participants paid attention to the label, the lower the number of positive terms they tended to mention. Additionally, wine tasters low in self-reported expertise were more inclined to report positive feelings towards the wines in the informed condition and if they were sensitive to wine's reputation. In contrast, wine tasters high in self-reported expertise were less inclined to report positive feelings towards the wines in the informed condition and if they were sensitive to wine's reputation. These results hint at the importance of considering psychological theories of emotion while studying wine-elicited emotions, in particular appraisal theories of emotion.

Self-Reported Emotions and Facial Expressions on Consumer Acceptability: A Study Using Energy Drinks

Emotional responses elicited by foods are of great interest for new product developers and marketing professionals, as consumer acceptance proved to be linked to the emotions generated by the product in the consumers. An emotional measurement is generally considered an appropriate tool to differentiate between the products of similar nutritional value, flavour, liking and packaging. Novel methods used to measure emotions include self-reporting verbal and visual measurements, and facial expression techniques. This study aimed to evaluate the explicit and implicit emotional response elicited during the tasting of two different brands (A and B) of energy drinks. The explicit response of consumers was assessed using liking (nine-point hedonic scale), and emotions (EsSense Profile^®—Check-All-That-Apply questionnaire), and implicit emotional responses were evaluated by studying facial expressions using the Affectiva Affdex^® software. The familiarity of the product and purchase intent were also assessed during the study. The hedonic rating shows a significant difference in liking between the two brands of energy drink during the tasting session. For the explicit emotional responses, participants elicited more positive emotions than the negative emotions for both energy drinks. However, participants expressed “happy”, “active” and “eager” emotions more frequently for energy drink A. On the other hand, the implicit emotional responses through facial expressions indicated a high level of involvement of the participants with energy drink B as compared to energy drink A. The study showed that overall liking and the explicit and implicit emotional measurements are weakly to moderately correlated.

Do Fair Trade Labels Bias Consumers’ Perceptions of Food Products? A Comparison between a Central Location Test and Home-Use Test

Consumers are paying more and more attention to ethical and social criteria during grocery shopping. As a result, Fair Trade products which are certified to address global supply chain issues (e.g., forced labor, working conditions, fair pay), are gaining popularity. However, it is unclear to which extent Fair Trade labels might influence how consumers perceive such labelled food products. The aim of this research was to examine the potential effect of Fair Trade labels on several measurements (overall liking, sensory profiling, emotions, willingness-to-pay and kCal estimations). Furthermore, tests were carried out at a sensory lab and at home to examine if the evaluation context might impact the label effect. In total, 179 consumers participated in this study of which 90 carried out the test in the sensory test facilities (central location test—CLT) and 89 at home (home-use-test—HUT). Participants evaluated three pairs of food products (nuts, juice and chocolate) of which one was labelled as conventional and the other one as Fair Trade. However, participants were each time evaluating the same Fair Trade product. Results showed that the Fair Trade label increased the overall liking. For the juice and chocolate, a higher willingness-to-pay was found when the product was labelled as ‘Fair Trade’ while no effect of the label was established for the nuts. The Fair Trade label did not affect the kcal estimation of the samples. The Fair Trade label had a rather limited influence on the sensory and emotional profiling of the food products. Furthermore, the results of the CLT and HUT were highly similar indicating that the evaluation context has little impact on the labelling effect.

From Flasks to Fine Glasses: Recent Trends in Wine Economics

This short literature review on wine economics introduces the Special Issue on wine of the Italian Economic Journal. Its goal is to provide non wine experts with an overall picture of recent trends of the wine sector and of major developments of the economic literature devoted to wine markets. As the wine market deeply changed through the last decades, the first section quickly outlines these changes. The second section revise literature on wine demand while the third section is on supply and the fourth is focused on policies.

The effects of contexts on consumer emotions and acceptance of a domestic food and an unfamiliar ethnic food: a cross-cultural comparison between Chinese and Korean consumers

Contexts are known to affect hedonic and emotional responses to various food products. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of context on consumer acceptance and emotion of a domestic food and an unfamiliar ethnic food. Here, 97 Chinese and 83 Koreans rated hedonic and emotional responses to Korean shallot-seafood pancake (Haemul-pajeon) and Chinese shallot pancake (Cōngyóubĭng), in a sensory or ethnic context. Context did not significantly influence liking, but the Koreans' liking for Cōngyóubĭng significantly decreased in ethnic context compared to sensory context. Context significantly influenced eliciting positive emotions to domestic foods, whereas the context that increased positive emotions differed by the nationality of the panel. Ethnic food evaluated in ethnic context elicited emotions with negative valence or high arousal, whereas actual tasting significantly reduced these emotions. The results suggest that previous experiences and associations moderate the effect of context on emotions and acceptance.

Consumption Context Effects on Fine Wine Consumer Segments' Liking and Emotions

Wine consumer lifestyle segmentation has been widely studied; however, most studies have solely utilised online surveys. This work investigated the impact of context on wine consumer segments’ liking and emotions while consuming wines in different environments. Two studies were conducted with regular wine consumers segmented based on their fine wine behaviour using the Fine Wine Instrument. Study 1 (n = 122) investigated the effects of wine variety and product information, and Study 2 (n = 346) the effects of wine quality and consumption context, on hedonic and emotional responses of the segments. Within both studies, three segments were identified and named: Wine Enthusiasts, Aspirants and No Frills. The Wine Enthusiast segment generally liked the wines more and perceived more intense positive emotions when consuming wine compared to the No Frills segment, with the Aspirant’s likes and emotion intensities ranging in between. Wine Enthusiasts were more discriminative of their preferred wines and reported stronger positive emotions when tasting higher quality (Study 1) and more complex (Study 2) wines. The consistent results across the two studies showed for the first time that consumer segments, based on lifestyle segmentation, differ in their hedonic and emotional responses towards wine when actually tasting wines, demonstrating that the Fine Wine Instrument has practical implications and can identify wine consumers displaying different wine consumption behaviours.

Current Research Related to Wine Sensory Perception Since 2010

Due to socioeconomic changes, the demand for and interest in alcoholic beverages have recently been increasing. Among various alcoholic drinks, consumer preference for wine could be varied. It might be related with its complexity, as wine is known to have characteristics that are difficult to understand. Several factors, such as intrinsic or extrinsic factors interact to influence wine complexity and consumer perception. Many studies have been conducted to understand the complexity of wine, allowing deeper insight into its perception by consumers. Studies over the last decade on wine sensory perception using descriptive analysis and consumer tests were reviewed. Additionally, chemical analysis studies were included because flavor constituents information would contribute to a better understanding of sensory perception. Descriptive sensory analysis of wine was reviewed considering panels and flavor characterization for better understanding wine-related research. Several consumer studies regarding liking/preference, emotion, context, and extrinsic factors to understand consumer preference or perception were reviewed. Research on chemical constituents may affect consumer perception and is thus presented in this review. However, most of the research was focused on a narrow range of wine, thus is missing overall wine category evaluations. Furthermore, evaluations were mainly in wine-producing countries, resulting in limited understanding of an emergent market. This review will help guide wine researchers and industry by providing information on factors influencing consumer wine perception.

Intertwined: What makes food and wine pairings appropriate?

This study sought to identify sensory attributes of appropriate food and wine pairings and relate them to balance, consumer liking, sensory complexity, and expected price. A descriptive analysis panel (n = 8) evaluated four Australian Shiraz wines along with four complex food samples, yielding 16 wine and food combinations. Based on the sensory profiles, distinct food and wine pairings (n = 6) were selected for consumer preference tests, comprising a real life, pseudo-three course meal with two wines. According to American consumers (n = 108), in the most appropriate pairings, flavour intensities increased and wine taste attributes changed in relation to individual components. Appropriate pairings positively correlated with liking, sensory complexity, and expected price to pay, and negatively with balance as a slight wine dominance was preferred. Pairings had an increase in liking and sensory complexity over the individual wine but not the food component. To account for individual variability, consumers were segmented by their liking of the pairing. Key drivers of successful pairings across consumer clusters were similar to the average consumer results, however, the preferred pairings differed by cluster. The findings suggest, the quality of food and wine pairings might be better measured with a combination of direct (dominance/balance, appropriateness of pairing) and indirect methods (sensory complexity, liking), instead of a single scale, and consumer segmentation may better account for the variability of results. The outcome of this study enhanced the understanding of the relationship between consumer behaviour and food and wine pairings.

Sensory and Chemical Drivers of Wine Consumers' Preference for a New Shiraz Wine Product Containing Ganoderma lucidum Extract as a Novel Ingredient

This study explored wine consumers’ preferences towards a novel Australian Shiraz wine product containing Ganoderma lucidum (GL). Wine consumers (n = 124) were asked to complete a questionnaire and participate in a blind tasting of six GL wine products (differing in the amount and timing of GL extract additions). Based on individual liking scores for each GL wine product that was tasted, four hedonic clusters C1 (n = 44, preferred control and low levels of GL additions), C2 (n = 28, preferred control only), C3 (n = 26, generally preferred all GL additions) and C4 (n = 26, preferred 1 g/L additions and 4 g/L post-fermentation) were identified. Sensory attributes of the GL wine products were also profiled with rate-all-that-apply (n = 65) and the 31 sensory attributes that significantly differentiated the wines underwent principal component analysis with the hedonic clusters overlaid to explain consumers’ preferences. There was a clear separation between hedonic clusters. Sensory attributes and volatile flavor compounds that significantly differentiated the wines were subjected to partial least squares regression, which indicated the important positive drivers of liking among the hedonic clusters. Pepper and jammy aroma, 3-methylbutanoic acid (linked to fruity notes) and non-fruit aftertaste positively drove C2′s preference, whereas spice flavor and hexanoic acid (known for leafy and woody descriptors) drove C3′s liking. There were no positive drivers for C1′s liking but bitter taste, cooked vegetable, and toasty aromas drove this cluster’ dislike. C4 preferred brown appearance, tobacco aroma, and jammy and cooked vegetable flavors. These findings provide the wine industry with deeper insights into consumers’ liking towards new GL wine products targeted at the Australasian market.

Influences of sensory attribute intensity, emotional responses, and non-sensory factors on purchase intent toward mixed-vegetable juice products under informed tasting condition

Product-related sensory and non-sensory cues have been studied in the past to understand purchase behavior among consumers. However, there has been little research related to integrating emotional responses with such cues to achieve better prediction of consumer purchase behavior. This study aimed to determine the impacts of sensory attribute intensities (SAI), non-sensory factors (NSF), and emotions on purchase intent and consumer choice. Emotional responses were measured using a self-reported emotion questionnaire (EQ), facial expression analysis (FE), and autonomic nervous system responses (ANS). Sixty-nine adults were asked to view product labels, and look at, smell, and drink five commercially-available vegetable juice samples. For each sample, SAI, NSF, EQ, FE, ANS, and purchase intent ratings were measured. Participants were also asked to select the one they would be most likely to buy. Results showed that the five samples differed significantly with respect to SAI, NSF, and emotional responses measured by EQ and FEs. SAI (bitterness intensity) and NSF (brand liking) played an extremely important role in purchase-related behavior of vegetable juice products. Correlation analysis and a PLSR prediction model further revealed that products with higher ratings of purchase intent elicited lower levels of negative emotions and higher levels of positive emotions, as measured by EQ as well as FE. In conclusion, this study shows that NSF in combination with SAI and emotions measured using EQ and FE can modulate consumer purchase intent toward vegetable juice products under informed tasting conditions.

An unfamiliar social presence reduces facial disgust responses to food stimuli

Consumers' emotional responses complement sensory and hedonic ratings in the prediction of food choice and consumption behaviour. The challenge with the measurement of consumption emotions is that emotions are highly context dependent. For emotion evaluations to bring greater insight to food research and development, it is essential that the influence of contextual variables on emotion are quantified. The present study contributes to the discussion with an investigation of the effect of an unfamiliar social presence on affective facial responses to visual food stimuli. Seventy participants (52 female and 18 male) viewed food images of varying acceptability either alone, or in the presence of the researcher. Subjective liking ratings were measured using a labelled affective magnitude scale, and facial muscle activity from zygomaticus major (contracted during smiling), corrugator supercilii (contracted during frowning) and levator labii superioris (contracted during nose wrinkling) were measured with an EMG recording system. Controlling for individual differences in facial expressivity and food image acceptability using linear mixed models, it was found that social context did not predict smiling or frowning muscle activity. Social context did predict the intensity of muscle activity indicative of a disgust response, with participants in the observed condition exhibiting less levator activity than participants in the alone condition. Regardless of social context, each muscle was found to have a relationship with subjective liking, with the direction of effects as expected. The results indicate that emotional stimuli and social context both influence food-evoked facial expression and provides support for the utility of facial EMG in measuring food-evoked emotion.

Physiological Responses to Basic Tastes for Sensory Evaluation of Chocolate Using Biometric Techniques

Facial expressions are in reaction to basic tastes by the response to receptor stimulation. The objective of this study was to assess the autonomic nervous system responses to basic tastes in chocolates and to identify relationships between conscious and unconscious responses from participants. Panelists (n = 45) tasted five chocolates with either salt, citric acid, sugar, or monosodium glutamate, which generated four distinctive basic tastes plus bitter, using dark chocolate. An integrated camera system, coupled with the Bio-Sensory application, was used to capture infrared thermal images, videos, and sensory responses. Outputs were used to assess skin temperature (ST), facial expressions, and heart rate (HR) as physiological responses. Sensory responses and emotions elicited during the chocolate tasting were evaluated using the application. Results showed that the most liked was sweet chocolate (9.01), while the least liked was salty chocolate (3.61). There were significant differences for overall liking (p < 0.05) but none for HR (p = 0.75) and ST (p = 0.27). Sweet chocolate was inversely associated with angry, and salty chocolate positively associated with sad. Positive emotion-terms were associated with sweet samples and liking in self-reported responses. Findings of this study may be used to assess novel tastes of chocolate in the industry based on conscious and emotional responses more objectively.

A cross-cultural examination of Australian, Chinese and Vietnamese consumers' attitudes towards a new Australian wine product containing Ganoderma lucidum extract

Ganoderma lucidum (GL) is a woody mushroom that has been widely used for many centuries in traditional Chinese medicine. Its bioactive-compounds are believed to promote longevity and prevent diseases in humans. With the close proximity of emerging Asian markets, Australian winemakers are beginning to adopt consumer-centric wine product development as a strategy to generate wines with profiles that meet the specific demands of these consumers. This cross-cultural study recruited 412 wine consumers (Chinese, Vietnamese and Australian) to participate in a survey to understand wine consumers' potential acceptance and self-reported intent towards new wine products produced with GL extracts and the relationship of their responses with wine neophobicity across cultures. Findings revealed that all consumer groups accepted the notion that GL wine products would be worth tasting and they would try them at social events, with Vietnamese consumers being particularly interested. Using the wine neophobia scale (WNS), three segments containing wine neophiles (n = 110), neutrals (n = 190) and wine neophobes (n = 112) were identified. The results revealed that Australian and Chinese participants were significantly more wine neophilic, compared to Vietnamese. As expected, neophiles were more prepared to taste and purchase GL wine products compared to neophobes across all three countries, although no gender differences were observed. The study provides the wine industry insights about consumers' attitudes towards a new GL wine product targeted to Australian and Asian markets that could help develop new niche wine categories and enhance consumers' satisfaction.