Expert reviews uncorked: Contrasting the differences in the language used in online reviews of white and red wine

Abstract

ABSTRACT Consumers today are well accustomed to a digitized consumer journey, actively seeking social proof from online customer reviews to guide consumption decisions. These review platforms have been shown to be influential in guiding consumer behavior across many product and service categories. The language used to describe products on review platforms is of importance, given its potential to influence consumer perceptions and purchase intentions. Despite this, little attention is placed on the language used in reviews. In order to address this gap, this research sought to analyze and contrast the language used in online customer reviews within the wine category, by contrasting the lexical characteristics of reviews of white and red wine. The research made use of 2917 online wine reviews for four different varietals, two red wine (cabernet sauvignon and shiraz) and two white wine (chardonnay and sauvignon blanc) varietals. The Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) software was used to conduct a lexical analysis, with the results indicating both similarities and differences between the reviews of red and white wine varietals. The results provide insight into the lexical components of the wine reviews and the implications that these bear on the perceived usefulness of the review.