External Evaluations under Quality Uncertainty: the Market for Wine Ratings

Abstract

The parallel development of scientific knowledge and technical practices over the last five decades has had a significant impact on sensory wine quality definition and evaluation. We conduct an integrative review of the literature on wine quality evaluation to determine the role of experts in the wine market, considering the recent changes. Following the updated methodology of integrative review proposed by Whittemore & Knafl (2005), we conceptually structure the topic of quality evaluation and valuation in the wine market while critically analyzing the literature. The existence of a market for experts and aggregated peer evaluations is not fully explained by the profitability of the actors involved: wine media and online review aggregators. The residual value necessary for the subsistence of this market seems to be contributed by the wine industry. The present research demonstrates that professional wine evaluation does not meet the demand for quality evaluation and judgment delegation apart from fine wines. Subsequently, with the fall of the search cost for price, information, and expertise, we are witnessing a digital switch toward informal influence. This is to our knowledge the first integrative review spanning the emergence and development of the industry of information and specialized valuation in the major wine markets.