EVALUATION OF WINE QUALITY USING A SMALL-PANEL HEDONIC SCALING METHOD

A hedonic scoring method for evaluating wines with a small panel was e xamined for reliability, effects of training level and agreement with a traditional 20-point scoring technique. The method was found to diff erentiate among qualities of 14 domestic Sauvignon Blanc wines with go od reliability. Four panels were tested, three with a high degree of e xperience in wine judging and a fourth consisting of fine wine consume rs with no special training. The three experienced panels agreed well about the wines' quality scores. Mean panel scores were less highly co rrelated (although still positive) with the untrained panel, which sho wed higher variability and lower reliability. Mean scores from the hed onic method were correlated at r = +0.94 with mean scores from a 20-po int quality judging procedure. The small panel hedonic method is suita ble for generating quality scores for consumer guidance in large scale wine surveys, as are commonly found in popular wine periodicals.