According to Wine Industry Advisor, the Wine Market Council (WMC) is hosting an exclusive webinar on May 27, 2026, to discuss findings from its latest study titled Taste Matters: What “Wine-Hesitant” Consumers Want in Their Wine. This event will take place at 10:00 a.m. PST.
The webinar aims to unveil critical insights from a comprehensive research study that examines the wine preferences of new and marginal consumers. As Liz Thach, MW and President of WMC, notes, “Our research highlights the flavors and attributes that either attract or deter these consumers, presenting opportunities for wine brands to better align their offerings with consumer desires.”
Previous studies have identified that challenges in finding wines that resonate with personal tastes, along with prevalent misconceptions about wine flavors, significantly hinder purchases among hesitant consumers. This new study delves into the roots of these perceptions, investigating how flavor expectations can differ from actual tasting experiences.
The Consumer Taste Preference Study comprises two parts: a quantitative analysis of 3,386 blind wine tasting reviews and a national survey involving 1,000 “wine-hesitant” consumers. The findings reveal essential sensory characteristics that either attract or repel these consumers.
Conducted in collaboration with research partner Quini, a specialist in consumer sensory data, the study’s findings will be presented by Christian Miller, WMC Research Director, alongside guest speaker Roger Noujeim, CEO of Quini. One notable insight from Noujeim indicates that high tannin/astringency combined with low perceived sweetness significantly impacts the recommendation scores among hesitant consumers.
