$90 Wine As Good As $10 Wine

by Kat Kinsman, Posted Jan 14th 2008 @ 4:04PM

Antonio Rangel and colleagues at California Institute of Technology wanted to test the effects of perceived value on the assessment of wine quality, so they asked 20 people to sample wine while undergoing MRIs to monitor brain activity.

Then they lied to them.

Subjects were told that they were sampling 5 different Cabernet Sauvignons sold at different prices, but really, they were given three wines, two of them offered twice, marked with different prices. A $90 wine was presented at its real price, and also at $10. A $5 was shown with its real price, and also with a price tag of $45.

The subjects' brains registered more pleasure when they were drinking the wines they believed to be more expensive -- even when it was the exact same wine. When no prices were given, the $5 wine was rated best of all.

Our conclusion? Next time you're having people over for dinner, pour the vino in the kitchen and tell your guests whatever you think will make your 'em happiest.

Read: Want the public to like your product better? Raise the price.

Read: Best Boxed Wines

Read: Best Wines Under $5.99

Filed Under: Guilty Pleasures, Drinks, Wines

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

2-26-2008 @6:36PM Sergio said... I am a red wine drinker. I have being drinking red wine for a long time, from $5.00 a bottle up to $65.00 some times. I still do not see a lot of difference other than getting head aches with rhe $5.00 ones.
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3-17-2008 @8:35PM Wine Insider said... I'd take issue with comparing $5 and $50 wines. You can ALWAYS tell the difference. First I'd ask if they let the wine breathe first, second I ask if they let people who actually knew anything about wine do the judging, and last I'd ask if the people tasting were chewing on Jolly Rogers as they tasted.

I have tasted 1000's of wines and one think I have always noticed with $30+ bottles is when you open them, you need to decant them and let them breathe for 30-60 minutes. I did a brown bag tasting once with a $40 wine and a $7 wine. Upon opening everyone was loving the $7 bottle.....as the night went on and the $40 opened up, you saw a switch and people got excited. The $40 became stunning and that $7 was an after thought. That being said you can always tell a $10 and a $50 bottle, but I have yet to find a wine over $50 that was any better then a $30-$50 bottle. I usually Stay in the $30 to $40 range and have found them on par with most $100 bottles.

I also agree with the previous posting about headaches. Bulk wine...that costing less then $10 is usually factory wine...pumped out constantly and loaded with sulfites by the batch...sometimes leading to excessive chemicals. Not good and really bad the next morning.

http://totalinsider.blogspot.com

Wine Insider Reviews, Recipes, and Style.
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1-15-2008 @12:09PM Michelle said... There is alot of truth to this experiment. I am a bartender at a fine dining restuarant and if you say its a delicious wine nine times out of ten, whether it is or isnt they will agree with you.
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1-19-2008 @8:51PM Karen said... That is just too funny! I wonder if that will work on my kids. I will just start buying their clothes and telling them that they were purchased at Kitson's or BCBG. ha ha
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