Beyond Blind Tasting: Label-Induced Shifts in Sensory Ratings of PDO Málaga Wines

Research on wine perception shows that extrinsic information can alter reported sensory perceptions. This study adopts a repeated measures design to quantify how label information affects perceived quality relative to blind tasting. Forty-five adult tasters evaluated eight PDO Málaga wines in two tasting contexts: blind and label-informed conditions. Participants rated the perceived quality of aroma, colour, and flavour using 5-point scales, capturing evaluative judgments rather than intensity. Mean global sensory scores and attribute-level evaluations were analysed to assess context-related effects. The results reveal a robust and consistent effect of informational context: label disclosure systematically increased perceived quality ratings compared with blind tasting. Difference-based analysis (informed − blind) indicates that this effect varies across wines and attributes, acting primarily as an amplification mechanism rather than fundamentally altering relative evaluations. At the same time, colour wines were clearly differentiated under blind conditions, confirming the presence of intrinsic sensory variation independent of contextual cues. Sensory attributes showed strong correlations (r > 0.95), indicating an integrated perceptual response, but also suggesting limited discriminant capacity among attributes and a tendency toward global evaluative judgments. No statistically significant differences were observed between consumers and sommeliers, although subgroup comparisons should be interpreted with caution given the limited size of the expert sample. Overall, the findings are consistent with expectation-driven perception, in which labelling cues correlate (r > 0.95), indicating an integrated perceptual response; however, this also suggests limited discriminant capacity between attributes and a tendency toward global evaluative judgments. No statistically robust differences were observed between consumers and sommeliers, although subgroup comparisons should be interpreted with caution due to the limited size of the expert sample. The study suggests the relevance of aligning sensory profiles with extrinsic communication strategies in wine marketing and PDO contexts, while acknowledging limitations in sample composition, measurement scales, and the use of self-reported sensory ratings.