Wine, etc.: You can't always tell a wine by its price

There is probably someone in your social circle who frowns at thought of opening a $10 bottle of wine. Either he's so wealthy, money is no object - or he wants to pretend he's wealthy.

Are your perceptions of wine influenced by its price?

Researchers at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the California Institute of Technology found that consumers they tested tricked themselves into believing an expensive wine is more enjoyable. They say expectations ignite activity in a part of the brain that reflects pleasure.

That's just what wine producers need to hear. Put a high price on mediocre wine and it...