Cornell study finds wine color is a weak predictor of how much drinkers will like it
A Cornell-led study of 82 regular red-wine drinkers found no consistent bias against the color of wines made from interspecific hybrid grapes. Although appearance shaped expectations, it explained only about 8% of the variation in how much participants liked the wines after tasting.
Hybrids tested alongside pinot noir
The research, published on 23 September 2026 in the American Journal of Enology and Viticulture, examined whether consumers judge the color of red wines made from interspecific hybrid grapes differently from wines made from Vitis vinifera. Researchers from Cornell AgriTech and Université Bourgogne Europe reported no consistent bias against hybrid-wine color; several hybrids ranked among the most visually appealing wines when compared with pinot noirs from Burgundy, Oregon and the Finger Lakes.3 · 4
Hybrid cultivars such as marquette, Maréchal Foch and St. Croix can withstand cold and disease pressure and can be grown with fewer pesticide applications, according to Cornell. Yet adoption has been restrained by concern that consumers may reject their appearance. Associate professor Anna Katharine Mansfield said that assumption had persisted despite not having been directly studied.3 · 4
Expectations changed after tasting
The team recruited 82 regular red-wine drinkers through the Cornell Sensory Evaluation Center. Without being told the wines’ identities, participants assessed 8 commercial reds: 5 wines made from hybrid cultivars sourced from New York, Wisconsin, Tennessee and Iowa, and pinot noirs from 3 regions. They rated appearance, expected enjoyment based only on color and, after tasting, actual liking.3 · 4
Lighter wines and those with more yellow or brown tones received lower visual scores and prompted weaker expectations. A Finger Lakes pinot noir, a Norton from Tennessee and a corot noir from near Albany, New York, formed the bottom group for visual appeal. After tasting, however, the relationship between liking the appearance and liking the wine explained only about 8% of the variation in responses. Cornell also found no meaningful correlation between color intensity and actual liking; Catherine Dadmun, a co-author and doctoral student in food science, said taste and aroma mattered much more to overall quality perception.3 · 4
Pigments did not determine preference
The researchers chemically analyzed 17 wines, including the wines used in the sensory test and additional hybrid samples, to map their anthocyanin profiles. Hybrid grapes contain a wider range of these red-wine pigments, including diglucosides, which are less deeply colored and may be somewhat more prone to browning over time than compounds typical of vinifera varieties.3
Consumer preferences did not follow those chemical differences as the industry had feared. St. Croix, which had a high proportion of diglucoside anthocyanins, was among the most visually appealing wines. It tied with Burgundy pinot noir—which contained no diglucosides—for the highest overall appearance score.3
Support and limits
The study was supported by the New York Wine and Grape Foundation and used commercial wine samples from producers in 5 states, including contributions from Wollersheim Winery and Vineyards in Wisconsin and Liberty Vineyards in New York. Instrumental color analysis was carried out at Cornell AgriTech, while ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography was used for anthocyanin profiling in Dijon with co-authors Natalia Quijada-Morin and Régis D. Gougeon.3
The researchers cautioned that commercial wines differ in vintage conditions, winemaking techniques and vineyard practices, all of which can affect color independently of grape variety. They said future work should examine how hybrid-wine color develops with age and whether perceptions change as these wines become more widely available. Mansfield said the findings could let breeders and producers worry less about making a hybrid resemble a vinifera wine and focus instead on the attributes of a good wine.3
Sources
- 3news.cornell.edu — Cornell Chronicle
- 4e3.eurekalert.org — Hue cares? Cornell study says wine color isn't the whole picture
Written by the Dionysus editors from the sources above.
