Sweet wines might have a ‘girly’ reputation – but it turns out they are more likely to be popular with fellas than with women.
Morrisons today unveiled data collected since the launch of its wine retailing website Morrisons Cellar last year, along with info gleaned from the accompanying Taste Test that profiles a consumer’s taste in wine based on questions such as their preferred choice in soft drinks and how much salt they use.
The Taste Test gives the consumer a ranking from 0 to 12 they can use to help identify the type of wine they are most likely to enjoy: ‘sweet’ (0-3), ‘fresh’ (4-6), ‘smooth’ (7-9) or ‘intense’ (10-12).
Data gathered since the test launched in October showed 37% of Brits had a ‘fresh’ palate and would enjoy a crisp sauvignon blanc or a light pinot noir. ‘Smooth’ consumers were the next largest group, with 32% likely to prefer slightly full-bodied wines such as a merlot. About one-fifth enjoyed ‘sweet’ flavours and should probably opt for something like a moscato, said Morrisons, while only 8% favoured the ‘intense’ flavours of rich, bold wines such as shiraz.
The retailer also found that 23% of men were likely to enjoy sweeter wines, compared with 20% of women, and that the biggest concentration of sweet wine fans was in the northwest. Taste Test also revealed that almost half (44%) of Scots surveyed had ‘fresh’ taste profiles, while the Welsh were the ‘smoothest’ wine drinkers, with 39% preferring a wine such as a buttery chardonnay.
“Consumers know the flavours they like but when it comes to wine, the category appears to mystify the majority of people and usual common sense does not apply,” said Simon Harrison, Morrisons commercial director for new business development. “Morrisons has recognised this dent in consumer confidence and invested in the Taste Test to make it as easy as possible for our shoppers to buy wine they are very likely to love.”
The retailer today launched a Facebook app that allows users to take the Taste Test via the social network and share their profiles with Facebook friends.
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