Wine Opinions Issues Core Track Report

The first in an ongoing series of quarterly reports on the taste preferences, attitudes, and purchasing trends among “high-end” U.S. wine consumers was released today by Wine Opinions.

St Helena, CA (PRWEB) December 16, 2005

The first in an ongoing series of quarterly reports on the taste preferences, attitudes, and purchasing trends among “high-end” U.S. wine consumers was released today by Wine Opinions. The report is based on a survey of members of the Wine Opinions Panel, whose frequency of consumption and purchase of wines (especially in the higher price categories) represents the 16.2 million consumers who drink wine either daily or several times a week, and drive the market for fine wine in the U.S.

“Having the largest proprietary online panel of core wine drinkers in the U.S. enables us to gain rapid insights on the most important consumer segment of the market and produce timely research and analysis of their tastes and trends,” says John Gillespie, the owner of Wine Opinions. “While sales data can indicate what is selling, we provide insight on their tastes and purchase motivations."

A number of current issues were covered in the report, including the relative influence of Robert Parker and the Wine Spectator on high-end consumers when making purchases of wine costing more than $20. Other topics surveyed were readership of epicurean magazines, usage and opinions on Pinot Grigio/Pinot Gris wines, purchase and opinions on the new “upscale” boxed wines, and consumer attitudes and preferences for imported wines from emerging sources such as Spain, South Africa, Argentina, New Zealand, and Germany.

Among the numerous findings is an indication that a “backlash” reaction to ratings of wines by Robert Parker seems to be forming among a significant segment of high-end wine consumers. “While the survey does indicate that Mr. Parker’s influence exceeds the actual number of those who read his publication and visit his web site, 48% gave him the lowest rating (‘no influence’) on a five point scale. This was double the size of the ‘no influence’ rating for other wine media,” said Christian Miller, who directs the research operations of Wine Opinions.

Further details on the first Core Track report, a number of topline survey findings, and the other research and newsletter offerings of Wine Opinions may be found at the company’s web site – WineOpinions.com. The 51-page Core Track report may be purchased for $495 on the Wine Opinions web site, or may be ordered by email.

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