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Some questions might never be answered, like:
Does Expensive Wine Taste Better Than Cheap Wine? This is the topic of a recent post on Vinography. As with most of my favorite posts, the comments that follow and the ensuing discussions are almost as interesting as the initial article or post. In this case, Alder Yarrow points readers to a working paper, published this month by the American Association of Wine Economists (AAWE) in which researchers share the results of over 6,000 blind tastings.

“Our results indicate that both the prices of wines and wine recommendations by experts may be poor guides for non-expert wine consumers.”

Wait, wait. What?! Then how will I know whether a wine tastes good or not? The above quote is what they open with in the abstract. And after presenting a highly academic report of their findings, they conclude with these words:

In sum, in a large sample of blind tastings, we find that the correlation between price and overall rating is small and negative. Unless they are experts, individuals on average enjoy more expensive wines slightly less. Our results suggest that both price tags and expert recommendations may be poor guides for non-expert wine consumers who care about the intrinsic qualities of the wine.

So what are the “intrinsic qualities of the wine”? Can we list them? Can we name them? What is it that the “non-experts” are enjoying? Are the experts truly looking for something beyond the wine itself? Are they suggesting that the experts care more about the price than non-expert consumers?

The pleasure we get from consuming wine depends both on its intrinsic qualities such as taste and smell and external attributes such as price and presentation.

Well, there you have it. Apparently the experts do care more about price and presentation. And why is this?

One may argue that the former [taste and smell] influences our subjective appreciation through a bottom-up process, where the sensory apparatus plays a key role, and that the latter [price and presentation] works through a top-down process, where beliefs and expectations about quality are important determinants.

(Note: Top-down = from the general to the particular. Bottom-up, then is moving from the particular to the general.)

As the footnote points out, these beliefs and expectations “might depend on ulterior motives such as status concerns.” Can expensive wine be a “positional good?” I’d take Jay-Z as a prime example of using wine as a positional good or status symbol. When asked about wine in an interview he mentions a $20,000 bottle of Petrus 1945 he’d had in the Bahamas. I’d expect a hell of a lot from a bottle at that price. I expect a lot from a $75 bottle! But I think it’s worth noting his comments on the wine itself:

Oh, it was definitely full-bodied. Incredible. You could almost taste the barrel. It was one of those things where you say, “Come on, how good could it be? What’s the difference?” But you really could taste the difference. It was damn near like smoking weed. It was a high.

Well, I don’t know that I’d expect a weed experience, but if only I could tell people that I had spent $20G on one bottle. And I don’t think it was a Jeraboam, either. Just a good ol’ 750ml bottle. (Does size matter? There’s another question…) But would Jay-Z be talking about the wine if he hadn’t spent so much on it? Would he remember it? What would an fMRI (as discussed in the AAWE paper) show of Jay-Z’s experience of the same wine in a blind tasting?

The debate amongst readers seems to be about issues of education, appreciation, and some stereotyping of “non-expert” tastes. But in the end, I agree with Alder Yarrow that a little education can go a long way. As one reader commented, perhaps education and appreciation go hand in hand. And although I just enjoyed a $10 bottle of 2005 Felline Albarello Rosso Solento (smells like cinnamon rolls with raisins), I know that the Seven Hills 2005 Malbec ($30) sitting on the kitchen counter, tempting me, is much more satisfying to my tastes. More complex, multi-dimensional, and simply richer. I don’t classify myself as an expert, but I do know what I like, what tastes good to me. I strongly encourage everyone to follow their own tastes, and if what you love happens to be inexpensive, well then, I guess you’ll be happier for less expense. Unfortunately, I like high quality–which I agree can be subjective–even if it does cost more sometimes.

Interestingly enough, at a recent syrah blind tasting here in Walla Walla, the Pepperwood Grove 2004 California Syrah won the favor of the majority. Weighing in at $7 it’s a decent wine. Would I have liked it more if I had thought it was more expensive? I don’t know. You can read my review.

In the end, I’m afraid you can’t buy me love; you can buy me a cheap wine, but I can’t promise I’ll love it. I might, but no promises. Now, maybe if you told me you paid a lot for the wine… I’d thank you for the gift, and still have to taste it to know if I liked it or not.