Does Blind Tasting Work? Investigating the Impact of Training on Blind Tasting Accuracy and Wine Preference

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

We analyzed data from Oxford University Blind Tasting Society's 2018 training season to assess whether blind tasting training improves accuracy. Over time, guesses for grape variety increased in terms of accuracy as well as within-group agreement. Moreover, for grape variety, location, and vintage, the chances of the most common within-group guess being correct were significantly higher than the underlying frequency distribution. Finally, we observed a shift in preference towards older wines, with those with little initial experience gaining a preference for greater acidity and alcohol, and decreasing their preference for oak. Our results have important implications for growing wine markets with an increasingly educated consumer population. (JEL Classifications: C91, C92, D83, L15, L66)..

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Wine Economics
Volume13
Issue number4
Pages (from-to)375-383
Number of pages9
ISSN1931-4361
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © American Association of Wine Economists 2018.

    Research areas

  • blind wine tasting, training, wine expertise

ID: 375018537