HOW DOES OPINION LEADERS' AND CONSUMERS' OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE KNOWLEDGE OF WINE IMPACT WINE CONSUMPTION? A STUDY

One of the main reasons that wine is such a fascinating product to consumers in general - and such a challenge to wine marketers - is that consumer evaluations of it can differ so substantially. This study measures objective... [ view full abstract ]

One of the main reasons that wine is such a fascinating product to consumers in general - and such a challenge to wine marketers - is that consumer evaluations of it can differ so substantially. This study measures objective and subjective wine knowledge using two different scales, and also tests the impact of consumer age, gender, education, actual consumption and opinion leadership and opinion seeking on these. Findings indicate a significant relationship between objective and subjective wine knowledge. Opinion seeking shows no statistically significant correlation with opinion leadership or with objective wine knowledge. Opinion leadership on the other hand, is significantly correlated with objective wine knowledge as well as subjective knowledge. Implications for wine marketing are discussed.