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A selection of New Jersey wines (Garden State Wine Growers Association)

It comes as no surprise to New Jerseyans that most of the world looks down on if not downright despises us.

They hate our wine, too.

A Duke professor has found that wine drinkers instinctively downgraded Jersey wines when told they were made in the Garden State, even though those same wine drinkers couldn't tell the difference between Jersey and California wines in a blind taste test.

A study by Duke professor Robert H. Ashton found that when wine is believed to be from New Jersey, it receives "lower enjoyment ratings'' than when the identical wine is believed to be from California — regardless whether the wine is actually from New Jersey or California.

The report, in the current issue of the Journal of Wine Economics, points up the influence of expectations on the sensory perception of wines — and food and drink in general.

"The contention that wine consumers will downgrade wines they believe to be from New Jersey relative to wines they believe to be from more familiar wine-producing locations such as California takes as given that consumers expect New Jersey wines will not be enjoyable, a notion that seems uncontroversial,'' says Ashton, who teaches at The Fuqua School of Business at Duke.

Jersey wine producers and lovers will certainly disagree with that, but Ashton, interviewed over the phone, said he came away impressed with Jersey wine in the three studies he has done.

The report, he said, "is very favorable to New Jersey wine producers,'' despite its title.

That comes from a participant in one study who, when blind-tasting four California and two Jersey wines, said, before being told which ones were which, "Nothing good ever came from New Jersey.''

John Cifelli, executive director of the Garden State Wine Growers Association, said he was "very angry'' when he saw the title, but once he read the report he came away heartened by its findings, even if Jersey wineries face a major challenge in winning peoples' hearts, minds and wallets.

"It's one thing to raise the quality of wine, but now that's not enough,'' Cifelli said. "You have to raise the perception of the quality of the wine.''

Making fun of New Jersey, he added, has become "a multigenerational running joke that seems to go on and on.''

Ashton's study was inspired by a 2012 wine testing in Princeton with French and New Jersey wines. While the top-scoring red and white wines were both from France, a Jersey white, from Unionville Vineyards, placed second in the category, while a Jersey red, from Heritage Vineyards, placed third in reds.

Wines from Heritage Vineyards in Mullica Hill (Heritage Vineyards)

When asked why they didn't like the wines perceived to be from New Jersey, participants in Ashton's study used such terms as"'weaker,'' "bitter,'' "sour" and "duller'' — words used to describe California wines "as often'' as they were used to describe Jersey wines.

The Journal of Wine Economics is a thrice-annual periodical devoted to "high quality, peer reviewed research on economic topics related to wine,'' according to its web site. It is owned by the American Association of Wine Economists and published by Cambridge University Press.

A total of 42 Jersey wineries belong to the Garden State Wine Growers Association. Another six wineries located in the state are not members. Three wineries are expected to open in the next six months in New Jersey, according to Cifelli.

Peter Genovese may be reached at pgenovese@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @PeteGenovese or via The Munchmobile @NJ_Munchmobile. Find the Munchmobile on Facebook and on Instagram.