Expensive Wine Tastes Better?

Expensive Wine Tastes Better?

Expensive wine tastes better, according to a new research by economists at the California Institute of Technology. Participants in the study tasted two identical wines, but were told that one was significantly more expensive. Not only did they say they enjoyed the pricier wine more, but also brain scans showed that their pleasure centers were more activated by it.

The research, according to the Times of London, is part of a growing field called neuroeconomics, which seeks to understand the influence of marketing and pricing on our buying decisions.

Wine is a prime candidate for ...

... such factors, since it's also been proven that most of us shop based on the label. (As writer Calvin Trillin once remarked, "I like a castle in the middle distance.") And of course, wine has long been associated with both snobbery and "badge drinking."

I think that the real value of the study is that you should trust your own sense of taste, and that you can derive lots of pleasure from "value-priced" (read: cheap) wines.

What do you think? Have you ever thought a cheap wine was more expensive than it actually was, or vice versa, an expensive one was (or should have been) cheaper?