While the importance of sensory evaluation in wineries has long been appreciated in regard to quality control, this opening session addresses its potential developing marketing strategies for understanding factors which influence consumers purchasing behavior and preference. According to co-chair Dr. Ann Noble of the University of California, Davis, the "one-day symposium demonstrates the enormous and unrealized potential value of sensory evaluation in the wine industry. Not only does sensory evaluation provide information which can be used by winegrowing and winemaking operations, but it can also be used to define factors which influence customer acceptance." Experts believe the obstacles to reaching greater sensory awareness stem from a general misunderstanding by marketing personnel of the value, techniques and costs related to experimental sensory procedures. Lecturers in this symposium will speak to each topic based on individual accounts, experiments and results.
Chairs: Dr. Ann Noble and Dr. Isabelle Lesschaeve, University of California, Davis E & J Gallo Winery, Modesto, CA
Program Outline:
Tape #1 Dr. Isabelle Lesschaeve ~ Welcome & Introduction
8:25 - 8:45 am Dr. Ann C. Noble ~ Retrospective of Sensory Evaluation
8:45 - 9:30 am Dr. Ulrich Fischer, Staatl. Lehr- und Forschungsanstalt, Neustadt, Germany ~ Practical Application of Sensory Research: Effect of Glass Shape, Yeast Strain and Terroir on Wine Flavor
9:30 - 10:00 am Dr. Isabelle Lesschaeve, The New Challenges to the Wine Industry Met by a Smart Use of Sensory Techniques
10:30 - 10:55 am Dr. Cristina de la Presa Owens, Beringer Wine Estates, St. Helena, CA ~ Making Sensory Evaluation Work in a Winery
10:55 - 11:15 am Letica Chac¢n-Rodr¡guez, University of California, Davis, Sensory Evaluation of Experimental Wines with Minimum Resources
11:15 - 11:45 am Pat Howe, Ascent Laboratory and Consulting, Napa, CA, What Sensory Consultants Can Do for the Wine Industry
11:45 - 12:30 pm Dr. Sophie Bonnans Hummer, Brown-Forman Beverages, Louisville, KY ~ Experimental Design: A Necessary Tool for Sensory Research on Alcoholic Beverages
2:45 - 3:15 pm Jane Yegge, University of California, Davis, The Identification of Sensory and Non Sensory Attributes of California Chardonnay Wines that Influence Acceptance and Purchase Intent for Differing Segments of Consumers
3:45 - 4:30 pm Kay McMath, New Zealand Dairy Board, Auckland "Marketing the "Milk of the Vine"
4:30 - 5:00 pm Where Do We Go from Here? Dr. Ann Noble, Dr. Isabelle Lesschaeve, Dr. Ulrich Fischer, Pat Howe, Dr. Sophie Bonnans Hummer, Dana Craig Petsinger