> Instead of sampling different regions, grape varieties and vintages, they tend to order the same plonk every time they go out.
Of course they do! The problem with wine is that the user experience of selecting one is shitty. If you study how users work, to get them to explore, you need a couple of things:
1. They need signals and affordances to give them hints as to which new actions are most likely to be what they want.
2. After they have made a choice, they need to be able to quickly get feedback to determine if it was what they wanted.
3. They need to be confident that if they try an action and it isn't what they want, that they can retract their attempt easily and without negative consequences.
Wine fails at pretty much all of these.
1. The packaging and terminology around wine is inscrutable. The labels usually mention brand (sometimes), location, and variety. As far as I know, most of those have little internal correlation. Two wines from the same winery can taste totally different. Likewise, two wines from the same area, and using the same variety. If I like, say, Chateau LeBlah Merlot from Bordeaux, that doesn't give me much confidence that I can predict what Chateau LeBlah's Cabernet is like, or a Bordeaux with a different variety, or whatever.
The label also tells you the year and the price. Again, those numbers often do not correlate with anything I can easily discern in the taste of the wine.
2. This is half there. I can take a sip and tell if I like it. Well, except that doesn't work out as well as you'd expect. Food and environment has a huge impact on taste. There is also the social experience of drinking. If a friend says, "Oh my God, you have to try this, it's amazing!" then it probably will taste better to me.
If I like a glass, did I really like it, or did I just like the experience? Or did I feel pressured to like it? Or did the high price tag convince me I should have liked it and if I didn't I just don't have a refined enough palate? Should I stick with it to see if I acquire a taste and understand what all the fuss is about?
3. In theory, most restaurants let you try a taste before you commit. But that in itself is a high pressure social act. The rest of my companions will watch my taste it and pass judgement. It's stressful being on the spot.
Usually, I just pick something and stick with it. If I'm not enthused about it, I'll slowly work my way through it sip by sip. I would feel weird ordering something else with a full glass sitting there. And I don't want to just gulp it down to move on to another glass because I don't want to drink too much.
If I'm buying wine at a grocery store, there's less social pressure, but I'm even more committed. I have to buy a whole bottle, and I can't return it.
Of course people stick with the one or two wines they know. The whole system points directly to that as rational behavior.