[Growwine] What customers want

[CanadaVintage]

Sound familiar?  
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What customers want

Linda Bisson, a professor of enology at UC Davis, encouraged vintners to tailor their wine to their customers' tastes, during her lecture entitled "The Winery of the Future." 

"Corporate goals differ," she explained. "Branding, terroir and reputation motivate your customers. They choose a wine because they are loyal to a brand, prefer a region or admire a winemaker."

Recent research suggests that they choose a label for more reasons than corporate marketers suspect.

While price, package, label, brand, variety and style influence a customer's decision, Bisson--a renowned yeast geneticist, is discovering how 200 genes with 12 variations each define our palates. Bisson's vision for the future of the industry encompasses consumer behavior, flavor enrichment and genomic information. "You can tailor your product to reach your customer by identifying consumer preferences, the effect that a choice has on a customer, and its genetic composition," she said.

Bisson and her team operate a gas chromatograph to identify and understand the biochemistry of flavor compounds. For flavors that don't appear as peaks on the chromatogram, scientists rely on a nose piece attached to the gas chromatograph that evacuates odors as the machine separates and records the sample.

"Once we've identified the flavor compounds, we can manipulate the taste," she said. "We derive flavors from the yeast, not the grapes."

Her team is also exploring how to control hydrogen sulfide and other undesirable odors. They search for the source of the odor, then look for ways to reshape the environment to prevent a microorganism from producing it.

"Knowledge drives the future of winemaking," Bisson concluded. "We need to minimize the environmental impact of the industry, and search for new ways to meet consumer expectations."

"No one size fits all," Wolpert added. "Winemakers and vineyard managers should tailor viticultural and winery practices to deliver outcomes that meet their specific needs.
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