Chardonnay and How It Relates to the Consumer Decision Process

Madeline Dock

Consumer Behavior

Ryan Russell

20 Novemeber 2018

Chardonnay and The Consumer Decision Process

Individuals develop self-concepts and subsequent lifestyles based on internal and external influences resulting in a consumer decision process. Consumers’ purchasing behavior of wine is affected by a range of different factors more specifically their purchasing of Chardonnay. I will be taking a look at consumers perception, and attitudes in regard to Chardonnay to explain why consumers state they do not like Chardonnay, but their consumer purchases say otherwise. Consumers engage in three general types of decision processes: affective choice, attitude-based choice, and attribute-based choice. The affective choice process is when a consumer decides to purchase a product based on overall product presentation. The attitude-based choice is when a consumer chooses a product because of external influences; making a purchase based on what they have learned from other’s experiences or opinions of the product. Lastly, the attribute-based choice process is when a consumer is explicitly looking for critical features in a product and ultimately makes a purchasing decision based upon how well the product measures up to fit their needs. I gathered that consumers have a negative perception and attitude towards the wine varietal Chardonnay, but that does not correspond with the fact that it is the most popular wine. I believe this directly correlates with affective-based and attitude-based decision making due to external influences.

        Chardonnay used to be very fashionable and trendy back in the 1980’s to the 1990’s. A newly introduced way of fermenting Chardonnay in oak barrels created a bold oaked, buttery wine bursting with flavor. Chardonnay became all the rage due to individuals who were new to drinking wine found it to be easy to drink and people always seem to bandwagon on what is trending now. By the early 2000’s, Chardonnay started declining in prevalence for the same reason it became popular, winemakers were making oak fermented Chardonnay too overpowering and bold, and as a result, people now considered it distasteful and paired poorly with food. The ‘Anything But Chardonnay’ movement began and still to this day many Americans say they want any wine other than Chardonnay but through market research Chardonnay accounts for one-fifth of wine sold, twice as successful as the second top-selling white wine, Pinot Grigio. The product, Chardonnay, therefore has a divergence between stated customer preference and revealed consumer preference. What I learned through research and the article written by Josh Barro is that people have been conditioned to say that they don’t like Chardonnay, but in reality, they do usually like it when they try it or in actuality, they just do not like a glass of wine that is overly oaked and tastes like butterscotch.  From my understanding based on the research, I have done individuals are choosing wine with low-involvement, affective choice, and an attitude-based choice process.