A researcher at the California Institute of Technology recently demonstrated that the fineness of wine is largely in the mind: test subjects routinely said Cabernet Sauvignon wine priced at $45 a bottle tasted better than wine priced at $5 -- even though both samples came from the $5 bottle. The same was true when samples from a $10 bottle were labeled as costing either $10 or $90. Taste-testers thought the sample labeled $90 was better, even though it came straight from the $10 bottle.
The cynical tee-totaler in me would like to observe that grape juice gone bad is still grape juice gone bad, whatever you charge for it. I once signed up for a "wine-tasting" experience, hoping to get some idea of what others see in it. Whether red or white, sparkling or flat, last year's crop or ten years old, it all tasted nasty to me. I couldn't imagine drinking the stuff long enough for it to start tasting good. I did that once when switching from regular to diet soft drinks, and once was enough.
Of course, my personal aversion to anything that smells of alcohol is not the point of the study, which used a high-tech brain scanner to peek at what was going on in the taster's mind when imbibing differently priced wines.
It turns out that the "taste center" of the brain was not fooled -- it showed the same sort of activity when subjects were tasting the samples from the same bottle of wine. In contrast, the brain's pleasure center lit up as subjects tasted wines labeled with higher prices, suggesting that the anticipation of some juicier juice had a lot of influence on how it was perceived.
Marketers have long known that how products are packaged and priced has a lot to do with how consumers perceive them. At the grocery store, cheaper "store brands" are often identical to more expensive name brands. Have you ever noticed, when there's a recall of something, how many different brand names are given to the same product? And they can be sold at widely different prices. But we think we're getting a better product when we pay more.
I'm too church-minded to pass on wondering how much similar factors play into our choice of a congregational home. Many factors come into play as we look for a church in which we can best express our faith and live out our commitments. Packaging and popularity (roughly equivalent to the price on a bottle of wine) can't be ignored, but what really matters is on the inside, and that takes time to appreciate.
(The image of brain scans, from the University of California at Berkeley, is illustrative and not directly related to the study at Caltech).
4 comments:
I've tasted very little wine in my life, none that I thought had a good taste and none that I could distinguish from another in quality. That notwithstanding, I know that some wines are better than others because when Jesus made wine He made a better wine than what was normally served late in the feast.
Relatively modern Baptist tradition aside, Jesus was not a teetotaler and His word does not enjoin total abstinence from the use of alcohol. Quite to the contrary, the Scriptures throughout uphold, condone and bless the moderate use of alcohol as a beverage.
Mark Osgatharp
Wynne, Arkansas
Tony: I have wondered similarly about works of art. I have visited museums, read art history books, and have purchased original works of art for my home. However, sometimes when I see what is passed off as "art" and then I see a HUGE price tag attached -- I think, "Gee whiz, my four year old son fingerpaints something very, very similar to this." Perhaps it is a brain perception-thing in this area too. I don't know, and probably never be able to figure it all out. The same way some folks pay $4.00 for a cup of coffee, because it comes from a fancy marketed coffee shop instead of home (Maxwell House) or a conveience store for pennies. Thanks for this post, it makes me think further and consider my own choices.
Thanks for your comments! I raise a glass of my cheap wine in your honor, feeling glad that it's about as good all the rest!!
Is this a good place to talk about drinking? Moderate use of alcohol is something I've never seen in real life, only read about.
In my family at least, no one ever drank that did it moderately, or without serious consequences. As a matter of fact, I've never in my life known anyone who just drank a drink of anything and then stopped. And you know, if you have to take that one drink everyday, then you are hooked.
That is the way to tell if a person is addicted to anything. If they can't put it down for one full day, that's it.
I hope those of you who were willing to admit you use alcohol can give me new experience regarding its moderate use. I believe you when you say it can be done, I've just never seen it. I know anything is possible.
I've got lots more, but this is enough for now.
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