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Dimensions of Expertise in Wine Evaluation*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 December 2016

Robert H. Ashton
Robert H. Ashton*
Affiliation:
Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, 100 Fuqua Drive, Box 90120, Durham, NC 27708; e-mail: robert.ashton@duke.edu.
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Abstract

This article explores the question of what distinguishes novices from experts in wine evaluation. Is it experts’ superior sensory abilities related to taste and smell, their superior cognitive abilities related to knowledge and memory, or a combination of both—and if a combination, which of the two dimensions of expertise, sensory or cognitive, seems to be more important? I address these issues by considering what has been learned in the past 30+ years from research concerning the sensory and cognitive dimensions of expertise in wine evaluation. The research examines expert/novice differences at both the chemical component level (detecting, discriminating among, and describing wine-relevant chemical components) and the holistic level (hedonic evaluation of wine as an integrated manifestation of its components). (JEL Classification: C93)

Keywords

cognitive expertsexpertiseexpert opinionsensory expertswine evaluation
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Wine Economics , Volume 12 , Issue 1 , February 2017 , pp. 59 - 83
Copyright
Copyright © American Association of Wine Economists 2016 

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Footnotes

*

I am indebted to two anonymous reviewers and to the editor, Karl Storchmann, for suggestions that have improved the development and exposition of this paper.

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