Pricey wine preferences a matter of the mind: study

Price, not palate, may determine a wine's worth, according to a U.S. study that found consumers were more likely to respond physically to an expensive wine over a cheap one.

The study, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scanned participants' brains with an MRI as they took the taste test. Participants were told they were sampling five different types of Cabernet Sauvignons, ranging in price from $5 to $90, but in fact, they were tasting three different types of wine. Two wines were presented twice and marked with high and low prices.

Researcher Antonio Rangel, of the California Institute of Technology, reported that participants said the more expensive wine tasted better. He also noted the brain scans revealed a higher degree of pleasure when the participants drank the pricey wines.

"We propose that marketing actions, such as changes in the price of a product, can affect neural representations of experienced pleasantness," the study said.

In a follow-up study, when wines were not tagged with prices, consumers were not swayed by the expensive bottles.

Researchers noted the study, which included 20 participants, might not be reflective of the abilities of wine connoisseurs, who would likely be able to separate pricey wines from less expensive brands.