Here are the 5 major factors that influence us when we evaluate a wine:
1)The price.
A few weeks ago the results of a very interesting research were published.
Three apparently different wines were served to a sample of non-expert conservators.
Same type but different price.
Having tasted these three wines, almost all the people examined did not hesitate to draw up a ranking of pleasantness that perfectly matched the value of the three wines.
The less expensive one is less pleasant, second place for the mid-range one and very positive feelings about the most expensive wine.
However in all three cases it was the same wine.
People were led to judge with more severity a wine that they considered of lower quality, overestimating the wine that they considered most valuable.
2)The story of the sommelier or the producer.
Price is just one of the variables that we normally take into consideration when choosing a wine.
The sommeliers are well aware that with their “story” they are able to make wines appreciated that otherwise would not impress for their quality.
The same wine, tasted in solitude, would probably affect us much less.
- The context of the tasting.
A wine is capable of making our summer evenings more pleasant.
The same wine, however, purchased in the city and uncorked during a normal winter dinner may not offer the same wonderful sensation of pleasure.
This is because in a pleasant context we are naturally inclined to notice better the good and beautiful things.
The evaluation of wine is not an exact science.
- The region of origin.
There are regions from which we always expect good wines such as Veneto, Tuscany or Piedmont to come, for example, or geographical areas that suddenly become fashionable.
This is the case of Etna, which for some time seems to have become the “coolest” area in Sicily.
If we open a bottle from one of these areas in general we will be brought to judge them with a better predisposition.
With the same quality we will always think that the wines of these regions are better than those from lesser known or emblazoned regions.
In doing so, however, we often end up drinking the same wines all the time, missing out on a lot of good opportunities.
3)The label and the bottle.
At least for the first purchase, the determining factor is the beauty of the label and, in some cases, the shape of the bottle.
On the shelf of a wine shop, most of the time we end up taking the bottle that most strikes us.
The one that stands out from the rest.