The Australian Wine Research Institute > Services to Industry > Winemaking > Sensory assessment > Sensory difference methods > Paired Comparison

Paired Comparison

Test Paired comparison
Min. Tasters1 7
Use When a difference is known
Samples Two coded test samples (A,B)

One is known to be chemically higher in an attribute (eg. sweetness)
Tasting sheets Click here
Basic method Tasters are asked to identify which sample is higher in an attribute (eg. identify which sample is sweeter).

Possible serving orders3: AB, BA
Example:

Results:

  • correct responses = 7
  • total responses = 7
  • significant difference for 7/7 = yes
Results Are the wines significantly different?

Correct response – Taster picks the sample that is higher (eg. the presumed sweeter sample.)
Significance – Required no. of correct/total responses2:
Single tasting: 7/7 7/8 8/9 9/10
Repeated tasting: 10/12 11/14 12/16 13/18
Notes:
1 Indicates the minimum number of tasters required for testing to achieve a statistically significant result (p < 0.05).
2 Figures denote minimum number of correct responses required out of the total number of responses to conclude the wines are significantly different from each other.
3 Serving orders denote possible arrangements of the samples to be presented randomly to tasters.