If perception is everything, and people enjoy wine they are told is expensive, can wine be given a price other than derived from scarcity? Amusing thought: you get standard house wine, but are charged as much as you can bear to part with to be told you are getting fantastic wine.
This is something a whole host of brand owners (not just in wine), have known for ages – that perception, or brand values, is a pretty intrinsic part of the user experience even with something as personal as one´s palate. Still nice to see it analysed in a bit more scientific detail.
The interesting thing for wine is that a) palates have moved considerably towards the New World, younger (and generally cheaper) styles favoured by Robert Parker – a trend that has been going on since the late ´70s. Also, the overall quality of wine production has gone up massively, and the distinction between, say, a