Quality assessment tests. The second
experiment was split into two sessions held one week
apart and participants were required to attend both sessions.
Participants were instructed and signed consent
forms as in experiment 1. Although participants were told
that they would be rating the quality of wines, they were
not given any information regarding wine closures or the
real purpose of the test.
Based on the results from the difference tests (discussion
to follow), the participants were given one Chardonnay
sample and then after a break, one Merlot sample in
session 1 (unknown condition). Each wine sample was
served on a tray in a standard clear, stemmed wineglass
labeled with a 3-digit code and presented with the pectin
rinse, water, and a cracker. Wine samples served across all
participants were taken from bottles with each of the three
closure types for both Chardonnay and Merlot samples.
The type of closure was rotated every 10 participants so
each closure type was analyzed by at least 30 people.
Participants were asked to taste the Chardonnay
sample and answer all the ballot questions related to that
sample before taking a break and tasting and rating the
Merlot sample. The order of ballot questions was rating