Effects of sensory cues on consumers’ wine taste perceptions and behavior: evidence from a wine-tasting experiment
通过品酒实验，研究了感官线索顺序、葡萄酒知识与视觉-嗅觉一致性如何影响消费者的味觉感知、情感评价、认知评价及购买意向，对葡萄酒行业和餐饮业有实践启示。
Purpose This study aims to investigate how sensory cue order, wine knowledge and visual–olfactory (V–O) congruence affect consumer’s taste perceptions of wine and their subsequent behavior. Design/methodology/approach An experiment was performed to identify the effects of sensory cue congruence and sensory cue order on wine consumers’ perceptions of wine, affective evaluations, cognitive evaluations and purchase intentions. Findings Wine experts exhibited positive emotional responses to congruent sensory cues in the V–O order. Experts’ enjoyment of wine’s aroma, their emotional responses, their cognitive evaluations and their purchase intentions were lower in the incongruent condition. Consumers’ negative emotions elicited by the V–O sequence were also less intense than those triggered by the olfactory–visual (O–V) sequence. Wine experts demonstrated more positive emotional responses in the V–O sensory congruent condition. Research limitations/implications This study highlights how visual and olfactory sensory cue order, wine knowledge and sensory cue congruence interact to clarify wine-related behavioral intention. Findings reveal the roles of these factors in shaping sensory perceptions, cognitive evaluations, affective evaluations and behavior related to wine consumption. Practical implications This study holds implications for various stakeholders, including winemakers, wine businesses, restaurants and the broader hospitality industry. Wine businesses can enhance advertising effectiveness by tailoring their marketing efforts to customers’ knowledge levels and emphasizing the inherent attributes that align with individuals’ preferences. Winemakers can improve consumers’ sensory experiences by enhancing the natural color of wines. Restaurants can strive to ignite diners’ positive emotions and experiences by providing congruent information. Furthermore, sensory-driven strategies can be used in the hospitality sector to elevate customers’ positive emotions. Originality/value This study fills gaps in wine research by delineating how wine knowledge and related sensory cues can influence consumers’ sensory perceptions, cognitive evaluations, affective evaluations and behavior. These aspects have been largely overlooked in previous work.