How Price Affects Perceptions of Quality There is this long-standing lie that the best quality comes at the highest price. While this may be true in some cases; like French Grand Cru wines, for the most part, it is a lie told by marketers to improve the perception of the quality of the wine. In the wine industry, many perceptions are made about the quality of wine based solely on price because it is so difficult to become an expert and appreciate quality wines. As a student with limited disposable income, price usually plays a bigger role in choosing a bottle of wine. The determinants of what makes a wine “good” or not boil down to a few factors, but the studies that will be examined throughout this article will examine the effect of external attributes and the overall perception of wine quality. What got me most interested in this topic after learning about an event in the 1970s called the “Judgment of Paris.” It was a blind taste test between Californian and French wines, where no price, packaging or marketing material could influence the judge's vote. Despite what many people think, sometimes the best wines are not the most expensive. Quality is subjective, but there are statistics and research to prove it. I hope to look at several research studies on this idea that price influences the perception of wine quality. Judgment of Paris In 1976, Steven Spurrier orchestrated a blind tasting between California and French wines to show the world that the French produced the highest quality wines. At the time, Napa Valley had not yet made its mark on the wine industry. Many considered American viticulture (wine making) a “hobby” and not one that could be profitable. Fam...... middle of paper...... in drinks. When we buy a wine, if it is an expensive wine, we have the idea that it is of excellent quality. Because of this idea, we continue to believe it even while consuming wine. Advertising and pricing provide a way by which consumers are influenced to purchase certain wines. I have been known to select a bottle of wine based on common marketing communications and packaging. Furthermore, wine critics and reviews play an important role. However, the difference is that I don't choose a bottle based on price because it relates to quality, in my situation it's purely a question of budget. For those people out there with a much higher disposable income than mine, if that person doesn't have a lot of knowledge and experience in wine, then research shows that they are more likely to perceive quality over price, regardless of the case. or not.