How do consumers describe cool climate wines using projective mapping and ultra-flash profile?

Abstract Traditionally, wines have been described using lexicons and trained panels. However, consumers of wine have varying knowledge about wine's sensory properties, and they may interpret these attributes in different manners, or use different words to describe the wines. As such, the objective of the study was to investigate how consumers evaluate cool climate wines (red, white, rose and sparkling) produced in Nova Scotia, Canada. The study involved 972 wine consumers and 76 wines (red, white, rose, sparkling). Each wine was evaluated using projective mapping (PM) and ultra-flash profiling (UFP). Each PM and UFP involved seven different wines (same style of wine) and one replicate sample. The participants were able to distinguish between the different varieties of wine and positioned the identical samples together. Overall, the participants used many attributes that described the taste and aroma of the wines, as well as distinguished wines based on their sweetness and bitterness. The participants used very few terms to describe the mouthfeel and appearance of the wines. Based on these results, wine producers and organizations may want to focus on educating consumers on the importance of mouthfeel and appearance attributes of wines. Overall, the participants in this study had a low level of objective wine knowledge, but they purchased wine frequently and were interested in wine. Wine producers and organizations should create labels that use descriptors that are used by consumers (broad category, ex. fruity), but also include descriptors that educate the consumers (specific attributes, ex. strawberry).