Thanks to a new science called “neuroeconomics,” we learn that the more wine costs, the better it tastes. Or at least some people think so.

A team at Cal Tech found that a person’s enjoyment of wine can be increased by merely attaching a high price to it. Theage.com.au reports that 21 volunteers were asked to sample five different bottles of cabernet sauvignon and rate their taste preferences. The only information they were given was the price, but in some cases, were not told the real price. The study was run different 15 times.

In one case they were given the same wine twice, once with the true price tag and a second time with a different price. They also put a $10 price on a $90 bottle, and poured wine from a $45 bottle, calling it worth $5.

In addition to recording the subjects’ impressions of the wines, they also scanned their brains to monitor the portion of the brain that is believed to relate pleasure to taste and odors.

“They found that inflating the price of a bottle of wine enhanced a person’s experience of drinking it, as shown by the neural activity,” the Web site said. “Volunteers consistently gave higher ratings to more expensively labeled wines.”

The lead scientist said, “If you believe that the experience is better, even though it’s the same wine, the rewards center of the brain enclodes it as feeling better.”

(Would the results be the same if it were a blind tasting?)

Drink wine and walk

Many research studies have shown the positive effects of red wine on heart health, and a new one from Denmark says adults who combine a little wine with walking are half as likely to die from heart disease than those who don’t drink or exercise.

(The moral of the story: Make sure the wine is on the other side of the room when you want to pour yourself a glass.)

Climate change effects

Speaking of Denmark, the Danes are thinking about ways of adapting to climate change, and vineyards there may be expanded, according to weinplus.com.

Scientists have predicted widespread change in agriculture by mid-century and the climate in Denmark may be similar to that now found in central Germany. There are fewer than 60 acres of vineyards in Denmark at present.

Fears of global warming are causing French growers to look at potential vineyard property in Kent, England, which, they say, has the same geology as in Champagne, according to kentnews.co.uk. Property is cheaper, too — an acre in Champagne can cost nearly $600,000, while an acre in Kent goes for $15,000 to $20,000 — and they won’t have as much red tape to contend with as they face in France.

It isn’t just climate change that has caused the French to scurry north. There’s a huge demand for Champagne. One British producer said, “This is a good time to be producing white sparkling wine in England because the public has an insatiable demand for it.”

(But will it sell as well with “sparkling wine” on the label, rather than “Champagne”?

Riesling rules

Riesling is becoming more popular these days. The recently-opened Spruce restaurant in San Francisco seems to agree — it offers 133 rieslings on its wine list, along with six rieslings sold by the glass and four in half-bottles.

The wines are arranged in categories according to the German system — Kabinett, Spatlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese – and range in price between $27 and $2,268.

A recent survey by Wine Opinions showed that the frequency of riesling purchases by consumers rose by 20 percent, while 50 percent remained about the same. Only 10 percent indicated they bought less, and 20 percent said they didn’t buy riesling at all.

(Maybe it’s becoming more popular because it’s easier to pronounce than gewürztraminer.)

A giant glass

Here’s an item found on liquorsnob.com:

“There are times when you want to sit down and have a nice glass of wine, reseal the bottle, and get on with your day. There are other times, however, when you want to make your way through that entire bottle, and damn the consequences. For whenever you have that kind of day, we’ve found this wine glass that holds a full 750ml of wine so you don’t have to keep getting up to refill, but you look slightly less like a drunk because you’re not drinking directly out of the bottle.”

(This is not what the doctor meant when he said one glass of wine a day is good for you.)

Quote of the week

“Wine makes every meal an occasion, every table more elegant, every day more civilized.” — Andre Simon, in “Commonsense of Wine”

Jack Heeger can be reached at jheeger@napanews.com.