The Psychology of Wine

In a recent blind taste test which will be published in book form as "The Wine Trials" most people were unable to tell between low-cost and high-end wines. This is a fairly well replicated result; it's increased by two factors:

• Inexperienced drinkers don't seem to have a strong preference for really high-end wine. They can tell, but are generally just as happy with "good little drinkers". (small signal, flat indifference curves)
• Although winemakers are getting pretty good at setting prices for their releases, there are a sizeable number of "good little drinkers" out there, and a number of overpriced wines of specific vintages and labels. (lots of noise)