Overview
The report presents an analysis of Chardonnay wines. It identified six Australian Chardonnay flavour styles, with fresh fruit character and creamy mouthfeel liked most, and sour and fresh vegetable characters liked least. Taste ratings did not fall when consumers were told a wine was Chardonnay, and a survey found no systematic negative view. It attributes the sales decline to oversupply and new competitors, and recommends baseline consumer attitude research. A significant amount of research has been conducted on this subject since publication. Refer to more recent published research and other Wine Australia resources.
We have shown that there are a range of Australian Chardonnay wine styles that appeal to consumers and provided some guidance on flavours that are positively viewed. Overall, it was shown that ‘taste’ was not the reason for decline in sales of Chardonnay. Next, we presented data from two ‘deception’ experiments, where we measured the influence of the perception of Chardonnay on taste preference ratings. Consumer responses showed that consumers do NOT rate the wines they taste lower when they are told that it is Chardonnay. This finding suggests that consumers do not currently hold general negative impressions of Australian Chardonnay.
Abstract
The main aim of this project was to determine consumer perception of Chardonnay. Through a multi-disciplinary approach using qualitative and quantitative methodologies we were able to determine that there is currently a negative perception conveyed in the media, and that some consumers ‘parrot’ that negativism when in social settings as a way of demonstrating their knowledge of Chardonnay.
Categories
Consumer trends
