Testing Australian standard consumers' understanding of the language used to describe wine

With reference to 64 common descriptors of the sensory properties of wine (e.g., tannic, full-bodied, etc.), we investigated the extent to which these terms are understood by Australian standard consumers in relation to an opposite property (i.e., as happens in the case of experts). The study also determined how consistently these dimensions were among the group of participants. The results confirmed that the sensorial dimensions relating to wine can be modeled in terms of opposites for standard wine consumers in more than 80% of cases. However, there was a great deal of variability between the properties in terms of the opposites which were elicited indicating that some terms are less open to ambiguity while others are associated with many different opposites. A comparison of the results with those from similar studies with Italian and Vietnamese participants is addressed in the final section. 

Practical Applications: The aim of the study was to replicate previous research conducted with Italian participants, but in this case involving Australian participants, with a view to compare participants from a traditional wine-producing country with those from a relatively newly established wine-producing country. A similar study had already been carried out with Vietnamese participants, that is, with consumers from a country with less familiarity with grape wines. The importance of this study rests on the fact that English is one of the most commonly spoken languages in the world and, as such, the study represents a relevant evolution of the original research. Opposites seem to be a useful point of reference for standard consumers in all of these countries in terms of their understanding of the terms used to describe wine. This and the fact that there seems to be a certain degree of uncertainty regarding people's understanding of many of these terms indicate that it may be necessary to reconceptualize the sensory dimensions relating to wine. From a practical point of view, this is certainly of interest to wine producers since it can help in the marketing of their products.