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Best enjoyed with a nice label.
Best enjoyed with a nice label. Photograph: Pascal Pavani/AFP/Getty Images
Best enjoyed with a nice label. Photograph: Pascal Pavani/AFP/Getty Images

Are you a wine buff or a wine duff? – quiz

This article is more than 6 years old

Apparently we have greater enjoyment of wines the more florid the wording on their labels – but can you sort the real descriptions from madeup nonsense?

A new study has shown that people are stupid, gullible and more easily swayed by pretty words than you would have believed possible. Just the news you wanted to hear before election day. According to the research, the more florid the wording on wine labels, the better the average drinker considers the wine to be – regardless of its actual quality.

This surely renders all wine descriptions meaningless, so do they even matter? And can you tell the real florid descriptions of wines from the fake florid descriptions? Take our quiz.

  1. 1.“From vines planted in 1927, this is fine, bright purple in the glass ... This is fine-boned vosne, with good ripeness of both fruit and stems. Very persistent.”
  2. 2.“Inky-dark yet light on the nose, with plenty of personality. This merlot is a complex heavy-hitter of barrel-aged intensity that enjoys a good length and crisp finish.”
  3. 3.“A rotund delight, this glorious sangiovese is full of robust tannins and intimations of balsamic and oregano. Expressive and intense, this is one for savoury red lovers everywhere."
  4. 4.“Its nose exhibits an aromatic intensity which seduces us with its red fruits, floral notes of truffles, incense and spicy touches. It caresses the palate with a satin texture.”
  5. 5.“This viognier is pressed in a protective atmosphere ... Flavours of peach, apricot and ripe pears cascade across the palate, finishing with a refreshing acidic lift and gentle mineral grip.”
  6. 6.“This laburnum-coloured French chardonnay is dry, crisp and minerally with just a suggestion of exudation ... Cheerful, lively, fine-shouldered and respectable, it has a light mouth feel and low acid content.”
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