Florine Livat

Wine experts’ rating: a matter of taste?

Purpose – Given the lack of consensus among wine experts, this paper aims to examine whether this implies they make systematic mistakes or is an expression of their idiosyncratic preferences. Design/methodology/approach – Grade equations are estimated for five famous wine-experts and a panel of 62 Bordeaux fine wines over the period 2003-2011. The appellation of origin is considered a measure of the typical taste of the wines. The authors control for objective factors, thanks to weather variables and the ranking of each wine. Findings – Ratings vary among experts, such that some statistically significantly favour wines produced in specific areas, indicating their taste preferences. Thus, preferences matter in expert ratings and would seem to suggest a continental variance. The finding explains the lack of consensus in this opinion market. Social implications – The lack of consensus among wine experts should not necessarily be viewed as market inefficiency. If consumers find the “right expert” reflecting t...

Collective Reputation Effects: An Empirical Appraisal

This paper tests Tirole (1996)’s theory about the link between indiviual and collective reputation. We estimate an interaction model in which a single collective reputation both determines and is determined by a series of individual reputations. Using detailed survey data about the image of Bordeaux wines in seven European countries, we find positive and significant spillover eects from the umbrella reputation (Bordeaux) that moreover increase with the individual reputation level of the wine. Controlling for the natural endogeneity of collective reputation in this setup, allows to capture the important fact that this relationship is faced with marginal diminishing returns. In other words that the marginal impact of Bordeaux as an umbrella brand actually tends to decrease to zero (and not to increase in a linear way) as the reputation level of its entities goes up. These spillover eects, when significantly positive, vary from a minimum of 5% to a maximum of 15% of additional favorable quality opinions.

Celebrities as human brands: an investigation of the effects of personality and time on celebrities’ appeal

Abstract This article considers celebrities as brands and relies on the brand personality literature to investigate how celebrities’ personality impacts their appeal. Celebrities’ appeal is analysed across different cultural fields (TV, music, sport and cinema) and over time. Using data gathered by Epoll Market Research about the perception of more than 3000 celebrities among the US population, our results show that apart from rudeness, all dimensions of personality have a positive impact on appeal. Interestingly, our results show that the impact of personality dimensions varies across cultural fields. Finally, we provide a dynamic analysis of the evolution of appeal over time, which also exhibits different patterns (declining, inverted U-shape) across cultural fields.

Congruency between colour and shape of the front labels of wine: effects on fluency and aroma and quality perceptions

For small wineries that often underestimate the need for applying contemporary marketing concepts to increase sales, some extrinsic cues exist that: 1) influence consumers during their evaluation of wine; 2) are easy and not expensive to control. The colour and the shape of the front labels of wine bottles represent such cues. In this research, we rely on psychological literature on visual perception to propose a model whereby colour and shape interact to affect consumer experience of fluency and perceptions of aroma and wine quality. Then an experiment manipulating colour and shape of a front label is presented. The results support our model. Overall, they indicate that colour and shape that are congruent lead to higher fluency and greater aroma perceptions and perceived quality. A discussion of managerial implications is then presented.

Trade liberalization in the presence of domestic regulations: public policies applied to EU and U.S. wine markets

ABSTRACT Wine is the highest valued product in the agricultural, food, and beverage sector traded between the United States and the European Union (EU) and wine faces a range of tariffs that are differentiated by country and product category. In addition, the production of wine grapes is heavily regulated within the EU and there are complicated state-level policies in the United States designed to limit the retail availability of wine. There continues to be economic and political pressure for reform to the tariffs between the United States and the EU, and to the domestic regulations in each region. We carefully develop parameters to characterize the effects of tariffs and domestic regulations that affect production and consumption of wine in the two regions. Simulation results show that reductions in tariffs would have relatively small effects in EU and U.S. wine markets, whereas reductions in EU domestic policies that affect wine grape production would have much larger trade and welfare implications.

Does Storytelling Add Value? The case of Bordeaux Fine Wines

Wine is a product for which producers tell many stories: story of their own family, story of their wine estate, story of their winemaking… as much communication signs. The wine drinker also refers to different stories to make his choice: his own history, his memories, his beliefs, his experience with wine are often requested to buy the ‘right’ wine in the wine shop. Even wine experts, wine journalitsts, wine blogers are charged to tell their story, among other as a justification of their skills or expertise. And wine tasting is often the starting point of many stories. Indeed, wine tasting is a sensorial and highly subjective aesthetic experience. Translating this organoleptic experience in comprehensible and shareable terms implies the abundant use of figurative language (Caballero, 2009): aromas and other characteristics of the wine are evoked by consumers as well as by wine experts, sometimes in a very poetic way, thanks to many metaphors. Indeed, as noted by Lehrer and Lehrer (2008, p. 114), “wines are described as masculine or feminine, muscular or sinewy, for example, in addition to being described as heavy or light, delicate or harsh”. Story ‑ or at least wine talk (Bach, 2008) ‑ itself can be part of the pleasure, when the experience is relived by periodically retelling the story of wine tasting or visit in a winery, when wine talk provides show off and admiration, but also allows learning, understanding, teaching and explaining. In such a context, one can ask what happens in markets driven by evoked images more than objective criteria.