Απόσπασμα από την παρουσίαση : «Μια προσέγγιση στην αντίληψη των καταναλωτών για τον οίνο»

Μάιος 2010

Την Δεκαετία του 70’ και του 80’ η εταιρεία Pepsi πραγματοποίησε μια διαφημιστική καμπάνια, την “Pepsi Challenge” οπού καταναλώτες δοκίμαζαν τυφλά Pepsi και Coke. Κατά την διάρκεια των δοκιμασιών η πλειονότητα των καταναλωτών προτιμούσαν την Pepsi, ωστόσο η προτίμηση τους αυτή δεν αποτυπωνόταν και στις πωλήσεις της Pepsi.

Με αφορμή το παραπάνω γεγονός , ο Dr Read Montague το 2004 διεξήξαγε ένα πολύ ενδιαφέρον πείραμα. Επανέλαβε το “ Pepsi Challenge” παρακαλουθώντας, αυτή την φορα, την εγκεφαλική δραστηριότητα των εθελοντών που συμμετείχαν στο πείραμα, χρησιμοποιώντας την τεχνολογία της functional MRΙ.

Για την κατανόηση της αντίφασης μεταξύ της ευχαρίστησης και της αγοραστικής προτίμησης, ο Δρ. Montague έκανε δυο σειρές δοκιμών. Αρχικά, έδωσε στους εθελοντές να δοκιμάσουν «τυφλά» Pepsi & Coke και διαπιστωσε πως η Pepsi δημιουργούσε πολύ μεγαλύτερο ερέθισμα στην περιοχή του εγκεφάλου που σχετίζεται με την διαδικασία της επιβράβευσης – ευχαρίστησης.

Όταν όμως ο Δρ. Montague επανέλαβε το πείραμα γνωστοποιώντας στους εθελόντες τι πίνουν , παραδόξως πλέον οι περισσότεροι προτίμησαν την Coke. Επιπλέον, η εγκεφαλική δραστηριότητα άλλαξε διεγείροντας την περιοχή του εγκεφάλου που συνδέεται με την σκέψη και την κρίση. Οι εθέλοντες ουσιαστικά διαμόρφωναν την προτίμηση τους όχι ανάλογα με την ευχαρίστηση – επιβράβευση αλλά με την αντίληψη που είχαν για το προϊόν “Brand Image” .

Τα αποτελέσματα συνδέονται άμεσα με την διαδικασία την δοκιμής οίνων. Όταν δεν δοκιμάζουμε τυφλά, η κρίση μας είναι πιθανόν να διαμορφωθεί από την προηγούμενη γνώση και αντίληψη για το κρασί που δοκιμάζουμε, αν και όπως δηλώνει Δρ. Montague η παρουσία αλκόολ μπορεί να διαφοροποιήσει τα πραγματα.

Ένα ακόμα πείραμα που πραγματοποιήθηκε με την μέθοδο της f -MRI είχε στόχο να διακρίνει τον τρόπο που καταναλώνουν το κράσι, οι οινικοί επαγγελμάτιες (π.χ. Sommelier) και οι απλοί καταναλώτες. Τα αποτελέσματα ήταν εντυπωσιακά κάθως στους απλούς καταναλώτες ενεργοποιούταν η περιοχή που συνδέεται με την απόλαυση ενώ στην περίπτωση των sommelier η περιοχή της αντίληψης.

Μήπως λοιπόν πρέπει να παραμερίσουμε τις ατέλειωτες «άχρηστες»πληροφορίες, να απομυθοποιήσουμε το οίνο και να απολαύσουμε το κράσι σαν απλοί «κατανάλωτες», ως μέρος ενός γεύματος με φίλους, απλών καθημέρινων ή ακόμα και ιδιαίτερων – μοναδικών στιγμών;

This Caldera scene was still vivid when in the kitchen of our beach-front taverna we had gone through the Greek ritual of selecting ‘’our victims’’. I was now faced with two large glass-door refrigerators. In them, a varied selection of the island’s bone-dry whites and an assortment of other Greek wines. I pointed the 2009 Sigalas to the bearded taverna owner, whose elongated craggy looks remind me of a French actor whose name has shamelessly joined my ever-growing pantheon of “anonymous” heroes.

The 2008 Santorini vintage was good. As were the 2005 and the 2007, though not a match for the exceptional 2006. Perhaps the 2009 will match it, or surpass the 2006. By summer 2011 a clear picture will emerge of how it stacks up. (See Articles: The 2009 Vintage Report). Evenings are not the best time for review. Mornings are far more suited to deconstructing a wine. Yet, despite the day’s fatigue and fast-dropping adrenalin, this 2009 Sigalas Santorini shone like a beacon. It is still going through the motions, heading for its starting point. From the very first sip, it was lively and complete, if a little subdued. Cellar this wine. It will reward your patience. Look at it periodically and (re)-discover a great terroir of the Greek vineyard.

Platinum and green tints. Floral, reminiscent of vines flowering. Seamlessly flows on into aromas of flint and green tea. Fireworks of crisp minerality kicking in with a lemony, stony, layered palate. Very long, refined, classy aftertaste. A saline iodine postscriptum. In “reading” the empty glass, a lesson in expression(s) of wine minerality unfolds. Best as of 2011-2018.

Score:  18.5/20

For more details please visit: www.sigalas-wine.com

Belgium: www.pasqualinno.be

China: www.asianbeveragecompany.com

USA: www.diamondwineimporters.com

www.frederickwildman.com

When Nico Manessis and I first talked about this article, I had it all laid out in my mind. I was to unite the two loves of my life, wine and fashion (my little lovie Urania is beyond compare), and talk about parallel lives, about fashion and wine as powerful partners in contemporary lifestyles and expressions of conspicuous consumption.

However, the economic crisis has since forced us to tighten our belts even more and I felt compelled to factor this into the equation. What are our ‘Responses to the Recession’? How do companies cope in the current economic crisis? Are tight-spending consumers now in charge or can companies still drive buying behaviour? Will the market polarise into a world of ultra-luxury products for the “haves” and super-inexpensive ones for the “have-nots”? How can we attempt to answer these questions, when entire economies collapse around us like dominoes?

Let’s begin by taking a brief look at the consumer and their buying behaviour to survive the crunch. An ING survey this year, which interviewed 11,000 people in nine countries, found that people have embraced a “cocooning” culture created by the financial crisis. We have become domestic hedonists, spending more time at home as the crisis bites.

Another study, conducted by psychologists at Cornell University, found that ‘experiences’ are more rewarding than ‘things’. According to the study, experiences are so effective at making us happy because we truly ‘own’ them. They become integrated into our characters and help shape our personalities. Andrea Pfeffer, Director at the Sales and PR agency Robinson Pfeffer, agrees: “The new luxury is about experience,” she suggests. “Ultimately, the shopper wants to feel personally connected to the brand.”

So one new trend is experience branding and experience retailing. Another one – actually linked to the previous one – is to buy things that are painstakingly hand-built instead of efficiently mass-produced. Architect and writer Steve Mouzon wrote near the beginning of this meltdown: “So I believe that the meltdown will begin to cause people to think long-term again, and to begin to value enduring things.”

In this vein, Tokyo-based designer Junya Tashiro describes his creations as “clothes that will mature,” aging like a fine wine, but also becoming more comfortable like an old sofa or favorite sweater. “The more you wear and wash your clothes, the more they become familiar to you, and the more you feel comfortable in them,” Tashiro explains. “If apparel has a nice feel to it to begin with, after 5 years, or 10 years, you will think ‘this is better now than when I bought it.’ I want to make apparel based on the idea that good clothing doesn’t get old, but matures.”

Choosing organic, believing in sustainable development, adopting a (frugal) green living stance and embracing the reduce/reuse/recycle motto is the way a lot of consumers (from various income groups) and companies alike have chosen to cope with the crisis.

Some companies choose to maintain a sense of exclusivity, by targeting specialised distribution channels; these are faring well under the current economic climate. Companies are also altering their public perception and developing a dialogue with customers through social media websites, such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Brands are now in a position where failure to nurture ‘genuine’ relationships with their customers may result in decreased sales, negative brand association and, ultimately, a failed enterprise. Trend analyst Dion Chang signaled the start of an “empathetic economy”, in which “value systems changed drastically” and companies, communities and families collaborated to survive. Whether we’re talking about wine, fashion or any other kind of business.

To end this brief foray into consumer behaviour and marketing strategies of the economic crisis, in relation to wine and fashion, on a pleasant note, I will introduce you to some ‘Evochia’. Evochia is the ancient Greek word for the mirth and conviviality present at a symposium. Evochia is also an organic food shop near my house, where I met Dimitris Theocharidis. The shop belongs to his family and, after he’d completed his B.A (Hons) at the London College of Fashion, I met him there, designing his clothes and selling wine and calendula baby creams.

Then Dimitris returned to London and teamed up with fellow graduate Jenny Holmes to create JENA.THEO. They then went on to win the highly coveted Fashion Fringe at Covent Garden 2009, chaired by Donatella Versace, with a “recession-proof” collection inspired by womens’ sexual revolution movements, from ancient Crete all the way through to the ‘60s.

What is their next collection going to be? “Maybe we can call it Times of Crisis”, they say. “We wish to celebrate the century that has just gone. We have looked at times of crisis through the 20th century from the French Resistance, the depression of the 30s through to the recession in the 90s.” We wish them all the best.

One quite never knows what Tsantali has in mind. More recently, having headhunted Panayoti Kyriakidis from Ampeloeniki (a leading consulting outfit), they appointed him as Chief Oenologist. I am closely watching what new ideas and direction this experienced technician and his team will bring to this volume-oriented wine and spirit address. The reviewed wine shows that they can do small (for them) lots of 15,000 bottles, which are worth the discovery of a bull’s-eye effort. As I have mentioned in these pages, overwhelmingly Greek CS are off-target. Made according to a French protocol, not tuned to Greek climatic farming requirements, they do not have much of a future. In the current grim financial situation, crystal-ball gazing what to replant for the future comes sharply into focus. Yet, this organic vineyard, located opposite their sprawling base in Aghios Pavlos, Chalkidiki, could not be a more enticingly no-compromise example. Soil is silty clay lying on a bedrock of limestone. My favourite pet of phenolically ripened tannins is near-perfect. Indeed, such were the seductive powers of this lucent varietal, it left me enchanted. It is also good to see one of the big players offer such characterful individuality.

Deep red. Initially ‘sweet’ nose with spice and chocolate. It opens up to earthy notes, cedar. Shoulder is covered with encrusted tannin in what the French call ‘chemise’. Ripe tannins, well-knit oak. Generous, persistent feral finish. Big and bold. Carafing recommended. Best: 2010-15.

Score: 17/20

For more details please visit www.tsantali.gr

Exclusive Greece retailer: www.wine-house.gr

Read tasting review of Moscato Methexis Domaine Kosta Lazaridi