Consumer acceptance of sweet wines and piquettes obtained by the adaptation of Ancient Wine-making Techniques

This study aims to assess the consumers' acceptance/preference of wines produced according to Ancient Wine-making Techniques. The wines were made from the Muscat of Alexandria variety (Vitis vinifera L.), comprising three basic styles: (i) young passito-style; (ii) passito wine incubated at 45 degrees C for 4 months; and (iii) piquette-style beverages obtained from the pomace of the withered grapes. The produced wines were rated on a 9-point hedonic scale for liking; whereas familiarity, consumption intention, and willingness-to-pay (WTP) were assessed by respondents on a 5-point Likert scale. The results showed that heating was essential to obtain liking scores and WTP equal to those given to a commercial Madeira fortified wine. Overall, the wines with higher residual sugar were preferred over the drier ones. The least preferred wines were the piquettes, those where salt was added during grape rehydration. Overall, this study demonstrates that it is possible to recreate ancient wines with acceptance compared to that of commercial counterparts, especially when subjected to a heating process. Practical ApplicationsThis study revealed that the "AWT" process described in Roman agricultural treatises may be easily adapted by the industry to produce wines with sensory features compared to present commercial wines. Moreover, the results of the study showed that consumers can be segmented according to their preferences. While some individuals showed consumption intention directed to all wines, others were more discerning ("discriminating consumers") in their preferences. Thus, the marketing of these products should anticipate possible rejection by some consumers and demand an appropriate explanation of their cultural and historical meaning.