Plastic wine glass mimic improves the perception of quality and aroma of white wines

Abstract

The impact of surrounding stimuli to the perceptions of foods and beverages is a well-established phenomenon known as psychophysics. Within the context of wines, psychophysics impacts have been demonstrated, with high-end wine glasses impacting sensory perceptions of the contained wines. However, with the commoditisation of white wines, there is a growing consumer base utilizing budget options for receptacles, which have unknown psychophysics impacts to the perceptions of wines. Accordingly, the work herein involved sensory assessment of 3 unlabelled white wines within 2 receptacles; a clear plastic wine glass mimic (‘glass’) and a red plastic beer cup (‘cup’). The results identified that perception of wines within the ‘glass’ was associated with a 1.20-fold increase in assigned wine value (AU$), and increased the perceived strength of floral and fruity aromas: apricot (p = 0.002), cotton candy (p = 0.084), honeysuckle (p = 0.080), lime (p = 0.073), peach (p = 0.084), stone fruit (p = 0.073), and wildflower (p = 0.080). The increased perception of desirable aromas and assigned value appear to be driven by psychophysics phenomena, potentially relating to receptacle shape, weight, style, and tactile experience, which function to prime consumer perceptions.