Or at least, people think they do:
RESTAURANTS charging inflated prices for wine could be doing their customers a favour. A study has found that people who pay more for a product do enjoy it more.
The researchers discovered that people given two identical red wines to drink said they got much more pleasure from the one they were told had cost more. Brain scans confirmed that their pleasure centres were activated far more by the higher-priced wine.
The findings could help to explain why rich diners are often willing to pay thousands of pounds for a bottle of fine wine. It seems much of the real pleasure is generated by the high price paid rather than by the quality of the vintage.
Evidence that factors unconnected with the intrinsic qualities of a product can be manipulated to make it more attractive have huge implications for all retailers, not just restaurateurs.
Its amazing that people fall for stuff like this.
January 25th, 2008 at 12:35 am
I just went to a winery last weekend and tried several different very expensive wines and the ones that I liked the best were believe it or not less than $20. I definitely believe that you can get some really great tasting wines without having to spend a fortune.
Thanks for the post, I really enjoyed it.