Terroir Products Research Articles

“Dal Sulcis a Sushi”: Tradition and Transformation in a Southern Italian Tuna Fishing Community

“Dal Sulcis a Sushi”: Tradition and Transformation in a Southern Italian Tuna Fishing Community

The dimensions of authenticity in terroir products

Purpose– This article aims to empirically test the terroir concept and tackles the issues of origin, typicity and legality. Whilst this has previously been examined at a theoretical level, the research uses a study of producer and consumer perceptions to examine the multidimensional nature of terroir and its relationship with authenticity.Design/methodology/approach– A preliminary list of terroir items was aggregated from the literature and placed in an online questionnaire that was distributed to an industry sample and then to a consumer panel in France. Quality perceptions, anticipated satisfaction and purchase intent of terroir products were also included. Exploratory and confirmatory analyses were conducted, as were linear regressions between uncovered dimensions and the dependent variables.Findings– The results show that the terroir concept comprises three dimensions that relate to authenticity: product, internalised and institutional authenticity. All three dimensions are positively correlated. Each of these dimensions can be related to satisfaction, quality perceptions and purchase intent, although the intensity and valence will depend on the relationship of the respondent to wine.Originality/value– Prior to this research, there were no empirical results to support the multidimensional nature of terroir. As well, the distinct relationship between terroir and types of authenticity is defined.

Influence of terroir products meaning on consumer’s expectations and likings

Given the plethora of terroir products, local food companies could find an advantage in specifying their positioning by taking into account what the terroir represents for consumers. This research contributes to identifying specific attributes of a terroir in tune with consumer expectations, and tests their capacity to ameliorate consumer hedonic assessments and judgments for these products. Results show the potential of a positioning based on the environment, which is respected by the practices of terroir producers, and which also guarantees the quality of the product.

Terroir? That's not how I would describe it

Purpose – This article seeks to uncover if the definition of terroir is the same between the users (producers, vendors, high and low involvement consumers) of the term in the French wine industry. The objective is to uncover if the definition of terroir is homogenous between the user groups.Design/methodology/approach – An online questionnaire was distributed to an industry sample and then to a consumer panel, and asked respondents to outline in their own words how they would define a terroir product. Lexical analyses using SATO software were conducted and uncovered word frequency, distances, and contexts.Findings – The results show that each user group has its own taxonomy of terroir terms and uses an exclusive vocabulary. User group distinctions and commonalities are outlined. Globally it appears that the user groups seem to define terroir based on their level of involvement with wine as well as their role in the wine industry.Practical implications – French wine marketers can use these results to bette...

Silence and Savoir-Faire in the Marketing of Products of the Terroir

The value of terroir products is dependent upon the ‘immaterial labour’ invested by marketers in constructing the brand identity of such products as a guarantee of quality and authenticity. This article will trace the history of the discursive construction of terroir products, from the interwar years onwards, showing how this has typically worked to occlude the realities of labour behind the production of terroir products. The article will demonstrate how the French have marketed products of the terroir with little reference to the savoir-faire of labour, preferring instead to locate the value of terroir products in idealised depictions of place and savoir-vivre. In their reliance on immaterial labour and the consequent occlusion of the realities of production, terroir products might appear thus to constitute Post-Fordist commodities par excellence. Yet the discursive construction of terroir products has a longer history, dating back to the Fordist era.

Terroir Products in North America: Dreams or Future Reality?

This introduction seeks to analyze the French concept of terroir and its possible applications in North America. By focusing on Quebec and Vermont, respectively the most advanced Canadian province and American state in terms of defining and regulating terroir, it outlines the primary challenges in developing government certifications for terroir and explores ways in which the practical and legal considerations associated with such certifications compare and contrast with similar considerations in Europe. In so doing it focuses on three products: cheese, wine, and maple syrup.

Unravelling the terroir mystique - an agro-socio-economic perspective.

Abstract The concept of terroir is a complex notion because apart from climate and soil, it includes individuals, social organizations and activities, such as agricultural practices. The idea of geographical origin is important for products which lay claim to a terroir-linked typicality. Quantifying the terroir effect using criteria other than taste (such as the socio-economic development for the area) is important for arguing the case of a product in the face of intellectual property rights, international trade rules and rules of competition. Measuring the 'terroir' effect on an agri-food product remains difficult for both trained experts and for the consumer, for whom the appreciation of the product or lack of it remains the principal criterion in its evaluation. This does not exclude the capacity to recognize the product's properties, but it should be remembered that the perceived taste and aromas will be transformed by the individual's experience into a unique overall impression of taste and smell. It would seem that the enrichment of the terroir concept over the centuries is a strong signal of its social importance. Terroir-derived food products, the preservation of landscapes and the encouragement of individuals are important values that merit current support and future development. High energy costs will engender a delocalization of certain agricultural products which may well lead to new links between the producer and the consumer, with inevitable positive results for terroir products. The purpose of this review is to address the question, via an extensive literature search and original conceptual analysis: what is a product's relationship to terroir and is this relationship identifiable?

Local products and geographical indications: taking account of local knowledge and biodiversity

The debate and negotiations in progress at the international level concerning the protection of geographical indications (GI) are of direct interest to the local agricultural products and foodstuffs called terroir products. Beyond the protection of the use of their name, which is the founding principle of this system, and the legal and economic considerations this system implies, new questions are being raised about these products concerning the diversification of farming and sustainable development. More and more, and in a favourable context, another major issue is becoming apparent: the biological and cultural diversity linked to these products. This questioning concerns the status and the future of these local resources in our societies and whether or not GIs can help maintain this diversity. Protecting local and traditional products through the GI system can contribute to conserving biodiversity at various levels: domestic animal breeds, plant varieties, microbial ecosystems, and landscapes. This is also a way of maintaining in a formal way shared knowledge and practices, since they underpin the protected resource. Taking account of these elements offers an opportunity to think about agriculture differently and leads us to propose an innovative approach to local products. Several examples taken in France will help show how links can be established between the protection of GI, cultural biodiversity, and local knowledge.

Local food between nature and culture: from neighbour farm to terroir. Interview of Laurence Bérard

V.A.: Laurence Berard, you stand for one half of the famous Berard and Marchenay duo whose works on terroir products in France simply cannot be ignored ; this is the reason why you accepted this interview for our AOF issue on local food products. I’ll just start with the plain question: when I say local products, what do you think of? L.B.: you’re not saying terroir products, for a change… I.T: That’s the point, is there a difference between the French expression terroir products and local p...

From local food to terroir product ? - Some views about Tjukkmjølk, the traditional thick sour milk from Røros, Norway

Cet article presente differentes visions du Tjukkmjolk, un produit epais lacte traditionnel de la region de Roros, lance il y a une dizaine d’annees sous le label “Alimentation de la montagne”. L’objectif de cet article est de mieux comprendre comment un produit local peut devenir produit de terroir, en determinant les valeurs culturelles qui se trouvent derriere le produit en question dans le territoire donne. Apres avoir observe l’evolution du produit ces 10 dernieres annees, nous decrirons le materiel utilise, puis donnerons la parole aux consommateurs locaux. Cela nous permettra de mieux comprendre les valeurs mythiques et symboliques du produit local, ainsi que les raisons pour lesquelles nos informateurs l’apprecient . Cet aspect culturel constituera la troisieme partie de l’article, dans laquelle nous comparerons les differentes visions exprimees a propos du tjukkmjolk . Finalement nous considererons l’aspect global de cette expression locale, par le biais du regional, du national, et de l’international.

Exploring terroir product meanings for the consumer

L’origine des produits alimentaires et en particulier la référence au terroir est devenue un support de différenciation courant, l’image apportée par le lien au terroir se traduisant par un transfert de l’image régionale sur l’image des produits et augmentant ainsi leur qualité perçue. Nous proposons dans cet article d’étudier les sources (ou antécédents) et conséquences du terroir, du point de vue des consommateurs. Une revue de littérature suivie d’une étude exploratoire qualitative puis quantitative nous permettent de montrer que les produits de terroir peuvent constituer une catégorie cognitive, et de caractériser trois facteurs source du terroir : la référence au lieu, au temps et à la culture et enfin à un savoir faire. Nous étudions ensuite l’impact de ces facteurs sur les représentations relatives aux produits dits « de terroir ». Nous montrons en particulier que le facteur « temps et culture » semble avoir l’impact le plus important. En particulier, il est le seul à influencer la qualité perçue.