A nice red! Why we choose wine based on label colour

FORGET flowery phrases, the grape or even the alcohol percentage – it’s the colour of the label that determines which wine we choose.

French scientists found that the background colour of packaging persuades drinkers to pick one red wine over another.

it seems that we believe that different col- ours suggest different flavours. Those who wanted a wine with a full-bodied flavour picked red labels, while drinkers wanting a more floral taste went for orange.

Even connoisseurs admitted that they were influenced foremost by colour.

in the study, published in the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 160 volunteers were shown a picture of the six bottles with different labels and asked to match aromas with colours.

Black was associated with dry, earthy or woody flavours; red with tangy; and orange with flowery favours. White was linked to milky tastes, while blue was neutral.

Strict EU laws concerning origin, variety of grape and additional chemical content govern wine labelling, meaning colour is one of the few ways growers can make their bottle stand out.

The study, led by Professor Erhard lick, of Paris’s ESCE international Business School, said: ‘Since there is usually no sales assistance available in supermarkets, wine labels represent the pivotal source of information for consumers at the point of purchase.’