Rethinking the wine list: restaurant customers’ preference for listing wines according to wine style

Purpose The purpose of this research paper was to examine difficulties that consumers have when choosing wine in a restaurant and whether structuring a wine list according to taste rather than origin facilitates decision-making. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted two online studies in Switzerland to assess whether a wine list organized according to wine style categories, such as fresh and dry or bold and fruity, reduces consumers’ perceived difficulty of choice compared to a traditional origin-grouped wine list and which wine list consumers prefer. In the first study (N = 577), participants received either an origin- or a style-grouped wine list. In the second study (N = 276), participants received and evaluated both wine lists. Findings In Study 1, participants with the style-grouped wine list had a longer decision time, but perceived difficulty of choosing a wine was the same as that for the origin-grouped wine list. Study 2 revealed that participants strongly preferred either the origin- or style-grouped wine list. Overall, more than half the participants preferred the style-grouped wine list, indicating that many consumers may appreciate wine lists organized according to wine style. Practical implications The findings underscore that restaurants should recognize customer preferences for wine list structures, which may influence customer satisfaction. Originality/value This paper assesses consumer perceptions of different wine list structures and how these affect consumers’ selection of a wine in a restaurant.