New research from the University of Zurich looks at how wine choices communicate something about the drinker’s values, depending on the situation in which the wine is chosen. Using experiments with over 1,200 wine buyers, the authors show that consumers consistently read meaning into visible wine cues such as bottle design, back-label stories and tasting notes, and that these meanings influence what people choose in different contexts.
The key finding is that wines are interpreted as expressing different kinds of values. Traditional labels, heritage stories, famous critics’ scores and references to prestige tend to signal reliability, achievement, status and respect for tradition. By contrast, natural wine language, sustainability narratives, unconventional labels and expressive tasting notes tend to signal curiosity, individuality, enjoyment and concern for others or the environment. Crucially, most people broadly agree on these interpretations, which means the signals “work” socially.
The study shows that people actively adjust their wine choices depending on who might see them. When choosing a wine for work dinners or professional settings, participants were more likely to pick bottles that signal competence, success and conformity, even if those wines were not what they would most enjoy alone. When choosing privately, they shifted towards wines that signal openness, pleasure, ethics or personal identity. In simple terms, people drink more “safe” and status-oriented wines at work, and more expressive or values-driven wines at home.
This helps explain why a bottle that feels right for a dinner party with colleagues may feel wrong for a quiet evening in, even at the same price and style. It also sheds light on why marketing language, packaging and storytelling matter so much in wine. They do not just describe the liquid, they help drinkers manage impressions and express who they are, or who they want to appear to be, in a given moment.
Overall, the paper suggests that wine buying is partly about identity management, not just flavour or value for money. Being aware of this can help us make more conscious choices, whether they want to project confidence and professionalism in public, or authenticity and personal values in private, and recognise when they are paying for the signal as much as for the wine itself.
