Bordeaux Wines: An Archetypal Terroir Cluster?

Abstract

The object of the present article is to use the example of the cluster concerning Bordeaux wines to show that the opposition between the porterian brand cluster and the terroir based cluster is simplistic. We intend to reveal how the Bordeaux wine cluster, reputed for being the archetypal terroir based cluster, derives from each dimension. First, if this cluster was historically built around a strong territorial identity, this is not the only definition of the traditional Bordeaux model. Second, during the nineties, this model was subject to a lot of internal and external tension, linked in particular to its difficulties to face shifts in the international wine market. Considerable transformations have already been taken on: they combine the reassertion of the reference to terroir with the renewed dimensions of innovation and competitiveness.