The role of expert judgments in wine quality assessment: the mismatch between chemical, sensorial and extrinsic cues
ISSN: 0007-070X
Article publication date: 11 January 2022
Issue publication date: 3 November 2022
Abstract
Purpose
The complexity in determining the quality of a credence good like wine increases due to the lack of mandatory ingredient labeling. This has generated a significant information asymmetry in the wine market, leading consumers to delegate their purchase decisions to expert rankings and wine guides. This paper explores whether expert assessments reduce the information asymmetry caused by the absence of ingredient labeling in the wine market.
Design/methodology/approach
By employing analysis of variance (ANOVA) in a sample of 304 wines included in the Wine Guide of the Spanish Consumers Organization (OCU), this paper assesses the extent to which expert assessments based on sensory evaluations converge with the objective cues provided by laboratory analysis in wine quality evaluations.
Findings
Results reveal a mismatch between expert assessments and laboratory analyses. Chemical aspects such as SO2 levels or volatile acidity, sensorial factors such as intensity and persistence, and extrinsic variables such as the region of origin or wine type play an important role in the quality ranking of wines.
Originality/value
These findings call for the inclusion of objective intrinsic cues in expert sensory assessments to provide consumers reliable information about wines and to resolve the apparent dissonances in wine quality assessments.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This paper was supported by the Spanish Plan of Innovation, Technical and Scientific Research 2017–2020 – Ramón and Cajal Ref. RYC2018-024025-I. The text was edited by Guido Jones, currently funded by the Cabildo de Tenerife, under the TFinnova Programme supported by MEDI and FDCAN funds. The authors thank the Spanish Consumers' Organisation for their collaboration in providing the 2020 Wine Guide for the study.
Citation
Parga-Dans, E., Alonso González, P. and Otero-Enríquez, R. (2022), "The role of expert judgments in wine quality assessment: the mismatch between chemical, sensorial and extrinsic cues", British Food Journal, Vol. 124 No. 12, pp. 4286-4303. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-04-2021-0373
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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