Abstract
Wine tasting is a multidimensional experience that includes contextual information from tasting environments. Formal sensory tastings are limited by the use of booths that lack ecological validity and engagement. Virtual reality (VR) can overcome this limitation by simulating different environmental contexts. Perception, sensory acceptability, and emotional responses of a Cabernet Sauvignon wine under traditional sensory booths, contextual environments, and VR simulations were evaluated and compared. Participants (N = 53) performed evaluations under five conditions: (1) traditional booths, (2) bright-restaurant (real environment with bright lights), (3) dark-restaurant (real environment with dimly lit candles), (4) bright-VR (VR restaurant with bright lights), and (5) dark-VR (VR restaurant with dimly lit candles). Participants rated the acceptability of aroma, sweetness, acidity, astringency, mouthfeel, aftertaste, and overall liking (9-point hedonic scale), and intensities of sweetness, acidity, and astringency (15-point unstructured line-scale). Results showed that context (booths, real, or VR) affected the perception of the wine’s floral aroma (dark-VR = 8.6 vs. booths = 7.5). Liking of the sensory attributes did not change under different environmental conditions. Emotional responses under bright-VR were associated with “free”, “glad”, and “enthusiastic”; however, under traditional booths, they were related to “polite” and “secure”. “Nostalgic” and “daring” were associated with dark-VR. VR can be used to understand contextual effects on consumer perceptions.
Highlights
The globalization of markets, an increase in per capita income, and eventually increased spending power has allowed more consumers to access wine products from around the world [1]
The chemical composition measured by instrumental analysis can provide valuable and reliable information to assess the quality of wine products; the consumers’ assessment is a critical decision-making tool to test the success of the product in the marketplace [1,2]
From the vineyards to the final wine products that are being consumed on various occasions, sensory analysis is an important tool in the manufacturing chain of wine production and commercialization [5]
Summary
The globalization of markets, an increase in per capita income (especially in developing countries), and eventually increased spending power has allowed more consumers to access wine products from around the world [1]. Standard consumers’ sensory evaluation relies on using isolated booths for removing external environmental factors, including odors and noises that can produce biases in responses [6,7] These controlled environments lack ecological validity because they do not offer “real-world”. Regarding the use of real surroundings, Hannum et al [26] evaluated the effect of three contextual environments (traditional sensory booths, an immersive wine bar, and an actual wine bar) on the acceptability and purchase intent of consumers toward wine samples. They found that the environment had a marginal effect on acceptability, individual consumers’ behaviors changed depending on the environment that was used. This study evaluated the perception, sensory acceptability, and emotional responses of a Cabernet Sauvignon wine under different conditions, including traditional sensory booths, “real-word” contextual environments, and VR simulations with associated hardware
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