Wine Regions Research Articles

Uncorking the virtual frontier of wine experiences: interest drivers and potential consumers’ profile

PurposeVirtual wine experiences (VWEs) replaced in-person wine experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic and continue to be offered by some actors. This study aims to investigate the factors driving interest in VWEs and identify relevant traits of potential consumers to help assess VWEs long-term potential.Design/methodology/approachA representative sample of 399 Oregon and California wine consumers answered a structured online survey. The authors combine ordered logistic regression and qualitative techniques to analyze the data.FindingsVWEs may effectively attract potential wine consumers and tourists. High interest in VWEs is associated with strong wine involvement and intentions to visit wine regions. Digitization, aversion to travel-related risk and convenience are other relevant drivers of VWE interest. The segmentation analysis revealed that consumers with a potentially higher interest in VWE have distinct traits.Practical implicationsWineries and wine tourism destinations could leverage VWEs to attract wine tourists and consumers. The authors discuss specific characteristics of high-interest consumers.Originality/valueParticipants in VWEs interact with hosts and explore products in real time. This engagement has long-term marketing potential for attracting them as customers or visitors. The study provides strategic information for practitioners and academics on VWE interest drivers and potential demand, which is currently missing from the literature.

Determining the influence of belonging to a wine protected designation of origin on profitability

AbstractTo guide consumers, wineries need credible attributes about the quality of their wines and its origin. In Spain, protected designations of origin (PDO) guarantee that the wine has been produced in a certain wine region in accordance with specific and officially regulated quality criteria thus providing elements of guarantee to the consumer. The objective of this work is to determine whether the belonging of a winery to a PDO is positively or negatively related to profitability. This analysis is important because based on its results, managers will have more knowledge to decide whether a winery is interested in joining the regional PDO or not. We performed an empirical study using a random‐effects generalized least squares regression analysis, with a sample of 1182 Spanish wineries, in which we determine the relation between belonging to eight of the major Spanish PDOs and winery profitability. The results show that wineries registered in these PDOs tend to have higher levels of profitability than wineries that have opted to remain outside, with these differences being significant in five of the eight PDOs analyzed. Additionally, the regression model reveals a positive relationship between PDO membership and winery profitability in six of the eight PDOs. Furthermore, the findings suggest that in some of these PDOs small wineries benefit the most from being part of a PDO due to their difficulties in having a recognized brand in the market, while belonging to a PDO seems to be less useful for large wineries that have greater resources to build their own quality brand. On the basis of these findings, the wineries now have more information to decide whether to stay in the PDO, join it, or focus exclusively on developing their own brands [EconLit Citations: L15, L66, Q13].

Dynamic Succession of Natural Microbes during the Ecolly Grape Growth under Extremely Simplified Eco-Cultivation.

The composition and continuous succession of natural microbial communities during grape growth play important roles in grape health and flavor quality as well as in characterizing the regional wine terroir. This study explored the diversity and dynamics of fruit epidermal microbes at each growth and developmental stage of Ecolly grapes under an extremely simplified eco-cultivation model, analyzed microbial interactions and associations of weather parameters to specific communities, and emphasized metabolic functional characteristics of microecology. The results indicated that the natural microbial community changed significantly during the grape growth phase. The dominant fungal genera mainly included Gibberella, Alternaria, Filobasidium, Naganishia, Ascochyta, Apiotrichum, Comoclathris, and Aureobasidium, and the dominant bacterial genera mainly contained Sediminibacterium, Ralstonia, Pantoea, Bradyrhizobium, Brevundimonas, Mesorhizobium, Planococcus, and Planomicrobium. In summary, filamentous fungi gradually shifted to basidiomycetous yeasts along with fruit ripening, with a decline in the number of Gram-negative bacteria and a relative increase in Gram-positive bacteria. The community assembly process reflects the fact that microbial ecology may be influenced by a variety of factors, but the fungal community was more stable, and the bacterial community fluctuated more from year to year, which may reflect their response to weather conditions over the years. Overall, our study helps to comprehensively profile the ecological characteristics of the grape microbial system, highlights the natural ecological viticulture concept, and promotes the sustainable development of the grape and wine industry.

What makes a wine region worth visiting: Place and beauty in Okanagan Valley, British Columbia

AbstractThis article explores the potential of Okanagan Valley as a place of distinctive wines and the tourism experiences that match these wines. By “distinctive” I mean wines with a sense of place woven into their production and marketing—wines that are called “terroir‐driven” in the wine world. My focus is not on wine production, but on place‐making and regional planning. The article is informed by geographical and sociological work on wine, but it accentuates the empirical over the conceptual to explore the long‐term potential of the Okanagan as a wine destination. Methodologically, the paper synthesizes academic and trade sources with primary fieldwork material, including participant observation in the region and interviews with wine professionals in British Columbia. It contributes to the efforts to forge an authentic narrative for the Okanagan as a place of wine.

Post-veraison sunlight supplementation improved the phenolic profile of Cabernet Gernischt (Vitis vinifera L.) grape and wine in a temperate monsoon climate

The regulation of solar radiation is a pivotal agricultural practice in enhancing the quality of grapes and subsequently, wine. In regions like Yantai, where solar radiation levels are typically low, the accumulation of wine phenolic compounds is negatively impacted. In light of this, our study sought to assess the efficacy of silver reflective mulch (RM) treatment on grape yield, maturity, and phenolic composition. Specifically, we applied RM treatment post-veraison to a Cabernet Gernischt (Vitis vinifera L.) vineyard in the Yantai wine region of China. Our findings indicate a consistent improvement in grape maturity with RM treatment, alongside enhanced accumulation of total phenols (TP), total tannins (TT), and total anthocyanins (TAC) in grape skin. Consequently, this led to elevated levels of phenolic compounds in wines and heightened color intensity. Moreover, tandem mass spectrometry analysis unveiled higher concentrations of key compounds such as petunidin-3-glucoside, malvidin-3-glucoside, procyanidin B1, quercetin-3-glucoside, cis-resveratrol, and piceatannol in the resultant wines. This study underscores the potential of RM treatment to bolster wine phenolics, particularly in regions characterized by a Temperate Monsoon Climate.

Wine consumer profile in wine regions of Brazil

Our article aims to analyze the main influences, experience and affective involvement that impact the consumer behavior of regional wines in Brazil. We used a descriptive quantitative survey. Our findings contribute to a greater understanding of the behavior of choice related to local experiences and what points are essential to involve the consumer with a product, in this case, wine. The Brazilian wine industry has been dealing with tariff disputes between countries, increased number of producers, reduction in consumption per capita and demand for higher quality wines. Our results show that cultural, social, personal, and psychological factors are crucial in this process.

Structural and Spatial Shifts in the Viticulture Potential of Main European Wine Regions as an Effect of Climate Change

Climate change modifies the base climate of the wine regions and, with it, the structure of their traditional types of wine production, imposing measures to adapt, mitigate, or capitalize on the newly emerging conditions. In order to assess the impact of climate change and establish the appropriate adaptation measures for each wine region, regional and local studies are needed, which allow knowledge of their current climate profile. The aim of this research was to identify the changes that appeared as an effect of climate change in the initial climate profile and the initial structure of the traditional types of wine production of Bordeaux (France), Loire Valley (France), Rhine-Main-Nahe (Germany), La Rioja (Spain) and Cotnari (Romania) wine regions, and also in climate suitability for wine production of the Sussex area from the UK. The study uses multi-year averages for the 1951–1990 and 1991–2010 time periods of reference bioclimatic indices for viticulture, namely the Average Temperature of the Growing Season (AvGST), the Huglin Index (HI), and the Oenoclimatic Aptitude Index (IAOe). The results of this research reveal significant changes in climate suitability for wine production of the studied wine regions: in the Bordeaux wine region, climate change led to the appearance of conditions for the cultivation of the Mediterranean climate varieties Grenache, Syrah, and Carignan; in the cool climate wine regions Rhine-Main-Nahe and Cotnari, traditional producers of white wines, the climate has also become suitable for the cultivation of Pinot noir and Cabernet franc varieties, and implicitly for the production of red wines; in all studied wine regions, the classes of climate suitability for viticulture shifted higher in altitude, as is the case of the La Rioja region, where, in the recent period, the grapevine can be grown up to 922.9 m asl, higher by 206.2 m compared to the 1951–1990 time period; in the low area of each wine region, one or even two new climate suitability classes for wine grape growing appeared. The shifts revealed by this research generate solid conclusions regarding the effect of climatic change on the viticultural potential of geographical areas, namely: in the context of climate change, the altitude of the wine region has a major influence on the evolution of the local viticulture potential; a higher topography allows a better adaptation of the wine region to climate change; low-elevation wine regions are more vulnerable to climate changes, especially the further south they are located; as an effect of climate change, conditions appear in the wine regions for the cultivation of new grapevine varieties and the production of new types of wine.

How do wineries price their wine experiences?

PurposeThis paper aims to model the price of cellar tours using a hedonic pricing approach. The authors analyze the complex relationship between the price of an add-on (here, cellar tours) and the price of the reference product (here, wine).Design/methodology/approachThanks to a large database containing information on about 1,000 winery experiences, the authors regress the price of cellar tours on wine prices and on a broad set of objective characteristics that are (1) tour specific and (2) common to all tours offered by the winery. These exogenous controls include the type and style of experience offered, amenities and winemaking characteristics.FindingsThe authors show that the price of cellar tours follows the price of the most expensive wine sold by the winery, which is a proxy for reputation. The authors find that one of the main determinants of cellar tour prices is visit length: wineries charge more for longer experiences. The number of wines tasted during the visit also increases the price. Prices are higher in places where there is a high level of wine tourism activity, which might be a sign of authenticity.Practical implicationsWine producers in different countries need to gain insights on how to price cellar tours, which are composite goods. The results can help practitioners price their winery experience according to common practices in different wine regions. The results may also be of interest to professionals in the tourism sector who are in charge of the pricing of by-products (e.g. tee-shirts, books, etc.), or for luxury fashion labels extending their brand in the catering industry with cafes and restaurants.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first empirical analysis that examines the complex relationship between the price of an add-on and the price of the reference product in the context of wine tourism.

Exploring the interplay between the core microbiota, physicochemical factors, agrobiochemical cycles in the soil of the historic tokaj mád wine region.

A Hungarian survey of Tokaj-Mád vineyards was conducted. Shotgun metabarcoding was applied to decipher the microbial-terroir. The results of 60 soil samples showed that there were three dominant fungal phyla, Ascomycota 66.36% ± 15.26%, Basidiomycota 18.78% ± 14.90%, Mucoromycota 11.89% ± 8.99%, representing 97% of operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Mutual interactions between microbiota diversity and soil physicochemical parameters were revealed. Principal component analysis showed descriptive clustering patterns of microbial taxonomy and resistance gene profiles in the case of the four historic vineyards (Szent Tamás, Király, Betsek, Nyúlászó). Linear discriminant analysis effect size was performed, revealing pronounced shifts in community taxonomy based on soil physicochemical properties. Twelve clades exhibited the most significant shifts (LDA > 4.0), including the phyla Verrucomicrobia, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi, and Rokubacteria, the classes Acidobacteria, Deltaproteobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, and Betaproteobacteria, the order Sphingomonadales, Hypomicrobiales, as well as the family Sphingomonadaceae and the genus Sphingomonas. Three out of the four historic vineyards exhibited the highest occurrences of the bacterial genus Bradyrhizobium, known for its positive influence on plant development and physiology through the secretion of steroid phytohormones. During ripening, the taxonomical composition of the soil fungal microbiota clustered into distinct groups depending on altitude, differences that were not reflected in bacteriomes. Network analyses were performed to unravel changes in fungal interactiomes when comparing postveraison and preharvest samples. In addition to the arbuscular mycorrhiza Glomeraceae, the families Mycosphaerellacae and Rhyzopodaceae and the class Agaricomycetes were found to have important roles in maintaining soil microbial community resilience. Functional metagenomics showed that the soil Na content stimulated several of the microbiota-related agrobiogeochemical cycles, such as nitrogen and sulphur metabolism; steroid, bisphenol, toluene, dioxin and atrazine degradation and the synthesis of folate.

Yeast communities of a North American hybrid wine grape differ between organic and conventional vineyards.

To compare the species diversity and composition of indigenous yeast communities of hybrid grapes from conventionally and organically cultivated vineyards of an emerging cool-climate wine producing region. Illumina MiSeq sequences from L'Acadie blanc grape musts were processed and filtered to characterize indigenous yeast communities in organic and conventional vineyards of the Annapolis Valley wine region in Nova Scotia, Canada. While cultivation practice was not associated with yeast diversity or species richness, there was a strong effect on yeast community composition, with conventional vineyards characterized by higher proportions of Sporidiobolales and Filobasidium magnum, and organic vineyards supporting Filobasidium species other than F. magnum and higher proportions of Symmetrospora. There was also variation in yeast community composition among individual vineyards, and from year to year. This is the first comprehensive assessment of yeasts associated with hybrid grapes grown using different cultivation practices in a North American cool climate wine region. Communities were dominated by basidiomycete yeasts and species composition of these yeasts differed significantly between vineyards employing organic and conventional cultivation practices. The role of basidiomycete yeasts in winemaking is not well understood, but some species may influence wine characteristics.

Phenological Evaluation of Minority Grape Varieties in the Wine Region of Madrid as a Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change

In this study, a total of 34 Spanish minority varieties were studied during four seasons from 2020 to 2023, and their behavior was characterized according to their main phenological stages (bud break, bloom, veraison, and maturity) and complete cycle. We focused on the varieties prospected in the central Spanish plateau and conserved in the “El Encín” grapevine collection, aiming to identify the potential for adaptation of these varieties and for them to be considered by winegrowers as an alternative to current climate change conditions. The growing degree days required for the expression of the phenological stage, and the duration of each stage, were compiled. Characteristics of oenological interest were also monitored, such as °Brix, pH, and titratable acidity in must at the time of harvest. This study was carried out in years with atypical snowfall and cold spells (winter 2021), as well as with heat waves (summer 2022), with average temperatures 3–5 °C higher than normal and absolute maximum temperatures over 40 °C. Both cases also exceeded records of historical series (1957–2019). Veraison has been identified as the stage most susceptible to damage from high temperatures, in addition to the maturation and duration of the complete cycle. The varieties were classified into five groups according to the duration of each phenological stage (very early, early, medium, late, and very late). Some varieties with late or very late maturation and with must characteristics of 20–23 °Brix, 3–5 g/L of titratable acidity, and pH 3.5–4.5, as well as others, retained stability in their phenological periodicity and must quality. The results suggest that special attention should be given to thoroughly evaluating these varieties, and that the strategies contemplated should be considered as a feasible cultivation alternative in viticulture to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Determination of 10 mycotoxins in wine, baijiu, and huangjiu of the Chinese market by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry and exposure estimation

In this study, liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) was employed to analyze the prevalence of 10 mycotoxins in 140 samples from the Chinese market, aiming to assess the exposure of Chinese individuals to these mycotoxins through the consumption of wine, baijiu, and huangjiu. Mycotoxins were detected in 98% of the samples, with fumonisins (FBs), deoxynivalenol (DON), and zearalenone (ZEN) exhibiting positive rates exceeding 50%. Regarding the exposure of the Chinese population to mycotoxins resulting from alcoholic beverage consumption, fruit wine intake made a relatively significant contribution to aflatoxin exposure, while baijiu showed a relatively significant contribution to ZEN exposure (1.84%). The analysis of the correlation between grape variety, wine region, and mycotoxin content demonstrated that FBs, ZEN, and DON were significantly influenced by grape variety and wine region. This research holds great significance in protecting human life and health, as well as in the production of safer alcoholic beverages.

Regenerative tourism in Australian wine regions

The tourism industry is complex and deeply embedded into the social, environmental, and cultural fabric of social-ecological systems. Tourism presents an additional rural development pathway for regions to diversify their economies and strengthen resilience at both micro (individual/business) and macro (community/regional) scales. In an Australian context, expansion of the tourism industry is an important strategy for rural development, particularly as the viticultural industry responds to uncertainties in the wine market and climate change. However, the emergence and growth of the tourism industry also creates risks for multifunctional viticultural landscapes. To better understand this complex relationship, regenerative development and place attachment literatures are explored to identify how multifunctional viticultural landscapes can be best supported by tourism for strong sustainable development outcomes. Host and guest values are examined in two prominent Australian food and wine regions, McLaren Vale in South Australia and Margaret River in Western Australia. Both places have a history for driving innovative, regenerative practices for sustainable landscape management, tied to regional identity and marketing. However, a mismatch is apparent between local and visitor values towards a range of regenerative land use and development themes. Locals consider sustainable landscapes and regenerative agricultural practices as more important, in association with their connection to place. Yet, visitors appear less aware of the roles that tourism can have in regenerating landscapes and agriculture, which means they are less likely to make decisions to support those practices. Regional tourism should directly assist vignerons to establish resilient and regenerative viticultural landscapes.

Spatial structure and influencing factors of an emerging wine tourism network: a case study of the Ningxia wine region

PurposeNetworks linking tourist attractions or organizations are a major focus of tourism research. Despite extensive research on tourism networks, academic research on the spatial structure and formation of wine tourism networks is limited. This study aims to investigate the spatial structure and factors influencing the development of a network among Ningxia wineries, an emerging wine tourism destination in China.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses social network analysis to uncover “what” the spatial structure of wine tourism networks looks like. Sixteen in-depth interviews were conducted among key stakeholders to explain the “why” of such structural characteristics.FindingsThe results show that in an emerging wine tourism destination, popular tourist attractions enjoy high centrality and hold key positions in the wine tourism network. Small wineries exhibit high closeness centrality, and only one winery serves as a network broker. According to the stakeholders, the importance of network actors will increase as their economic and political importance increase, while small wineries that lack differentiation in the network may perish.Practical implicationsLocal governments can implement the suggested measures for improving network connections, and wineries are advised to find suitable positions to improve the experiences of tourists.Originality/valueThis study pioneers the identification of the distinct structure and factors influencing the network of an emerging wine tourism destination, thus enriching the understanding of the interplay and roles of different actors.

Development of the Wine-Growing Enterprises in the Mór Wine Region, Hungary

Abstract The Mór Wine Region (MWR) is one of the smallest ones in Hungary. Its area decreased continuously to only 724 hectares till 2022. Nevertheless, a spatial concentration of farms can be observed, like it has happened in other wine-growing regions of Hungary. Our principal aim is to investigate the sale channels with special consideration of the personal, market and online forms in the light of sustainability. The pandemic time is over, the online sales are in vain, the personal relationship between the winemaker and the customer is currently enjoying a revival period. Within the framework of mixed methods approach, we surveyed 28 winegrowers and wineries to fill in our semi-structured questionnaires, as main method in this article. After evaluating the questionnaires, we can say that some young wineries, thanks to good marketing activities, are able to take advantage of modern community-based media and are able to reach semi-wealthy social groups that usually consume wine. Unfortunately, the majority of wineries are not able to do so. Furthermore, there is a lack of cooperation between suppliers that can initiate smaller wineries to process and store grapes, and at least appear on the domestic market.

Signature of Sr isotope ratios and the contents of elements as a tool to distinguish wine regions in China

This study investigated 120 Chinese wines from seven regions and had two objectives: to clarify the Sr isotope ratios and elemental characteristics of each region and to develop a strategy to distinguish the geographic origin of wine without authentic samples to predict its origin. The analyzed 87Sr/86Sr values ranged from 0.708256 to 0.715148, which correlated with the geological characteristics of the regions where they were grown. The Hexi Corridor exhibited the highest ratios of Sr isotopes, while Xinjiang had the lowest. The 87Sr/86Sr values were applied to establish a prediction map which was evaluated through cross-validation. The prediction error was found to be less than 0.00074. The Sr isotope ratio could remain stable for an extended period in a specific location. This map shows the feasibility of identifying wine origin and could be applied to other food products. Adding Sr isotope ratios could improve the accuracy in tracing wine origin.

How do Syrah winemakers from two different French regions conceptualise peppery wines?

This work investigated Syrah producers' conceptualisation of peppery wines from two different wine regions. For the study, a long-term memory approach was used; in addition, the effects of the region of origin, as well as the sensitivity of the participants to detect rotundone, were evaluated. A total of 101 winemakers from the Northern Rhone Valley (NRV) and Languedoc-Roussillon (LR) were interviewed face-to-face after they had participated in two 3-alternative forced tests to assess their ability to detect rotundone. As part of the interview, participants were asked to remember the last peppery red wine they had tasted, to provide technical information about that wine and, more generally, about practices enhancing this character in wine, and to give their overall appreciation of such peppery notes. Only minor differences were observed between participants with either low or high sensitivity to rotundone; in contrast, an important regional effect on the conceptualisation of peppery notes was observed. Experts from the NRV recognised this character as a marker of wines made from under-ripe grapes. Overall, they perceived this flavour as a positive attribute, notably at a moderate level, but some experts also perceived it negatively. For LR participants, peppery notes were associated with powerful, full-bodied wines from very ripe grapes produced in the South of France and were notably perceived as a positive character. Our results are particularly relevant for the wine community as they show that the conceptualisation of a given wine aroma characteristic by winemakers can strongly differ according to their region of origin.

Do German winegrowers see a connection between biodiversity and wine tourism?

Abstract German winegrowers are increasingly creating habitats in wine landscapes that are necessary for the preservation of biodiversity. Since biodiversity in the landscape can have a positive impact on tourism attractiveness, one might assume that winemakers are also promoting tourism by doing so, but are they aware of this? The aim of this study is to explore whether German winegrowers see a link between biodiversity and tourism in wine regions and what this link might look like. For this purpose, 52 qualitative interviews were conducted with German winegrowers from all 13 German wine regions. The results show that German winemakers are aware of the central importance of the landscape in attracting tourists and that the clear majority of the interviewed winegrowers believe that a biodiverse landscape has a positive impact on tourism in wine regions. This work reveals unanswered research questions and opens a wide field for researchers to address the topic. Promoting biodiversity could be one of the most important factors contributing to the appeal of wine landscapes and could thus increase the attractiveness of wine regions for potential visitors. Ultimately, tourism flows could be optimized and the predominantly rural German wine regions could preserve their cultural heritage and develop into new aspects of sustainability.

Welcome to the neighborhood, what brings ya? Digital storytelling between strategic groups for winery authenticity

ABSTRACT Advantageously, smaller regional wineries need to differentiate themselves, but also need to build partnerships with their local competitors in order to develop regional brand identity. Wineries will form geographical strategic groups to create a common identity and communicate with buyers through digital storytelling. Regional wineries that perform this strategy have the advantage of collectively drawing customers into the region before attempting to distinguish themselves individually. This paper is to conceptually demonstrate the benefits of strategic groups and how they operate via digital storytelling methods. Oftentimes, regional winery groups can craft a collective identity that provides benefits, such as mutual trust and reputation. More importantly, the collective identity is done as a strategic group to reinforce authenticity to the individual wineries’ digital storytelling, to connect with buyers. Through a strategic group lens, we attempt to understand how collective winery groups use digital storytelling to create authenticity and enhance individual efforts. We investigate these efforts via regional wine collectives to understand authenticity development through digital storytelling. We introduce examples of wineries utilizing digital storytelling within their regions as a justification to study these concepts in the winery business. A call to empirically investigate winery strategic groups at a regional level is presented.

The anatomy of exporting wineries of Argentina

PurposeThis study aims to provide a detailed characterization of Argentinean exporting wineries using a new rich firm-level data set to understand how capabilities and business strategies differ among firms with different levels of involvement in the export market.Design/methodology/approachA survey was distributed among all wineries along all wine regions of Argentina; the 45-min questionnaire was answered by 230 wineries, a representative sample with a response rate of 26.3% of the total population of Argentinean wineries. The survey assessed the interaction between wineries’ dynamics and characteristics and their participation in export markets. In the comparative analysis, the results are presented by dividing the sample into four categories according to the export intensity of the wineries.FindingsHigh-intensity exporting wineries in Argentina differ from other Argentinean wineries in several dimensions. In particular, the most internationalized Argentinean wineries are the most endowed with higher capabilities; they follow a specific business model emphasizing product differentiation, quality upgrading, brand building and the development of distribution channels. Exporting wineries from Argentina adopt business practices that differ from those that prevail among wineries that only target the domestic market. They have developed firm capabilities such as human capital and technology to play a critical role in quality upgrading for their participation in global wine markets.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to study the Argentinean exporting wineries using a firm-level sizeable representative sample.