A fancy name affixed to a bottle of wine doesn’t guarantee the beverage is of exquisite quality. It does, however, increase its likelihood of being purchased.
A recent marketing study conducted by Brock University wine researcher Antonia Mantonakis showed that consumers are more likely to pay more for a wine that carries a name like Tocai Friulano, or something else that’s difficult to pronounce. Not only that, but those same consumers also are more likely to enjoy wines with fru-fru names, NPR reports.
“Participants not only reported liking the taste of the wine better if it was associated with a difficult to pronounce winery name. But they also reported about a $2 increase in willingness to pay,” Mantonakis told NPR.
Of course, there is an exception to every rule. Although having a fancy name can help a bottle of wine go from a grocer’s shelf to a wine lover’s cellar, beverages with whimsical names also are trendy. With more women purchasing alcoholic beverages, low-priced wines like Cupcake, Sassy Bitch and Beam‘s (NYSE:BEAM) Skinnygirl collection are attracting many consumers.