Biography:
Demei Li is an Associate professor at the Food Science and Technology College in Beijing University of Agriculture. He is consulting for several wineries in China, and helped one of them, Jia Bei Lan, claim the International Trophy from the Decanter World Wine Awards 2011 in London. Demei won the 2012 Wine Intelligence 10-for-10 Business Award, and on the Decanter 2013 Power List, and named one of the Top 10 Most Influential Wine Consultants by the Drinks Business in 2013. As a columnist, Demei contributes to many prestigious wine publications, including DecanterChina.com. He is one of the contributors for The Oxford Companion to Wine (4th edition).

Presentation Title:
Preliminary Results of Study on Chinese Consumers' Preference to Wine Based on their Dietary Backgrounds Difference

Abstract:
Consumers’ preferences for wine flavor were studied from three aspects: wine color, aroma and taste. Through a large scale of questionnaires, wine flavor sensory tests, and face to face interviews with selected consumers, this paper conducted a study on consumers' preferences for wine flavor. The data obtained was analyzed by correlation analysis, factor analysis, and variance analysis. The preference differences in wine color, aroma, and taste were analyzed by consumers’ gender, age, dietary habits, etc.
The following preliminary conclusions were drawn:
1/ Preference on wine color: 54.60% of the consumers liked red wine, 31.16% liked white wine, and 14.24% liked rose wine. Consumers preferred white wine to be straw yellow and red wine to be ruby red.
2/ Preference on wine aroma: There were differences in consumers’ preferences for different types of aroma in wine according to their gender, age, and dietary habits. In general, consumers liked the aroma of Cherry, Apple, Rose, Almond, and Grass, but did not like the aroma of Earth, Smoke, Pine, and Pepper. Male consumers’ preference to Almond and Smoke was significantly higher than that of female. The preference for Almond aroma of consumers at the age of 36-45 was significantly higher than those who were at the age of 18-35. The preference for Smoke aroma of consumers at the age of 36-45 was significantly higher than those who were at the age of 18-25. The preference for Grass of consumers who liked Huaiyang cuisine was significantly higher than those who liked Sichuan cuisine, Shandong cuisine, or had no specific dietary type. The preference for Smoke of consumers who liked Sichuan cuisine was significantly higher than those who liked Cantonese cuisine, or had no specific dietary type.
3/ Preference on wine flavor: There were differences in consumers’ preferences for different flavors in wine according to their gender, age, and dietary habits. The preference of female consumers on sweetness was significantly higher than that of men's, and there was no significant difference between two genders on acidity, astringency, and bitterness. Consumers at the age of 18-25 had significantly less preference for bitterness than those in other age groups. There was no significant difference on sourness and astringency among different age groups. Consumers who had no specific dietary type had a higher preference on sweetness compared to those who liked Sichuan cuisine; those who liked Shandong cuisine had a higher preference on astringency compared to those who liked Sichuan cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, or Huaiyang cuisine.