Karpik in the Bottle: Can Judgment Devices Explain the Demand for Fine Wine?

Abstract

Processes of valuation and evaluation are especially complex and uncertain in markets for unique products. Consider the purchase of a bottle of fine wine. Each wine was produced in a certain region, on a particular soil, by a famous wine producer, employing methods handed down for centuries. How can consumers compare unique products in order to make a choice? How is a market for singular products possible? According to Lucien Karpik’s economics of singularities, such markets necessarily rely on social actors and artifacts providing knowledge on how to compare unique products, called judgment devices. To systematically assess the explanatory contribution of Karpik’s approach, this paper empirically tests fundamental propositions of the economics of singularities in a quantitative framework, examining the case of the demand for fine wine. The analysis provides ample support for Karpik’s theory. First, wine demand is substantially correlated with the use of judgment devices. Second, the effects of judgment devices on product demand cannot be explained by information deficits, in line with the theoretical arguments. However, the analysis also reveals deviations from the theoretical expectations. Certain judgment devices prove more important for the demand for higher priced wines than predicted, whereas others play a more minor role. Furthermore, the use of judgment devices is substantially linked to social distinction, something Karpik’s theory overlooks.