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An executive summary for managers and executive readers can be found at the end of this article.
1. Introduction
As wine gradually becomes a lifestyle beverage, more and more people are drinking wine as reflected in statistics in the USA, UK, Australia and a growing number of other countries. For example, in the 2009 Gallup Poll 50 per cent of women in the USA named wine as their standard alcoholic drink, up from 46 per cent in 2005 ([42] Saad, 2009), and almost six in ten Americans (58 per cent) are now wine buyers ([22] Harris Interactive, 2009). Clearly these consumers have gone through a process of becoming more socialised to wine over time ([39] Olsen et al. , 2007).
Wine is an information-intensive experience product and by virtue of this the buying situation is often regarded as a complex one in which a high degree of associated risk is perceived ([13] Bruwer et al. , 2002; [30] Lacey et al. , 2009; [36] Mueller et al. , 2009). Wine is an experience product mainly because the quality thereof cannot be assessed until the product has actually been consumed ([5] Barber et al. , 2008; [4] Barber et al. , 2006; [15] Chaney, 2000; [25] Jaeger et al. , 2009). The sensory aspects, specifically the olfactory ones of wine are an integral part of the total product experience that consumers have when consumption takes place ([31] Lee and Lee, 2008). Not surprising, there have been a multitude of studies in this area in recent years in Australia ([43] Saliba, Bullock and Hardie, 2009; [44] Saliba, Wragg and Richardson, 2009).
In determining reasons for differences in the sensory perception of wine, it seems from the anecdotal evidence that lifestyle has an impact. In the UK, research indicates that while women are the major purchasers of wine, more women buy in supermarkets and more men in specialty wine shops ([40] Ritchie, 2009). The 2008 survey of the Wine Market Council reports that 56 per cent of all wine consumers in the USA are women ([55] Wine Market Council, 2009). A Christy Frederick Marketing survey reports 77 per cent of women polled in the USA buy the wine for their household and buy it like the groceries, as...