Quality assessment tests. For Chardonnay,
results showed that both the mean liking and
quality scores for the screwcap in the known condition
were lower than the mean unknown scores, while the difference
between the mean liking score for the synthetic
cork in the known condition was somewhat lower and was
significant at the 90% confidence level (Table 5). For
Merlot, there were no changes in mean liking ratings for
any of the closures from unknown to known condition,
but the mean quality rating for the natural cork sample
was significantly higher in the known condition. Also, the
mean quality score for the synthetic cork tended to be
higher and was significant at the 90% confidence level.
These apparent differences between mean scores from
unknown to known condition were examined further by
comparing the number of participants who lowered and
raised their scores after the closure was revealed (Table 6).
For Chardonnay samples, the number of participants who