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Brettanomics I: The Cost of Brettanomyces in California Wine Production

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 September 2020

Julian M. Alston Open the ORCID record for Julian M. Alston [Opens in a new window] ,
Torey Arvik ,
Jarrett Hart  and
James T. Lapsley
Julian M. Alston
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Robert Mondavi Institute Center for Wine Economics, and Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA95616; e-mail: [email protected].
Torey Arvik
Affiliation:
Jackson Family Wines, Santa Rosa, CA95403; e-mail: [email protected].
Jarrett Hart*
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Agricultural Issues Center, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA95616
James T. Lapsley
Affiliation:
Agricultural Issues Center, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA95616; e-mail: [email protected].
*
e-mail: [email protected] (corresponding author).
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Abstract

The yeast, Brettanomyces bruxellensis (Brett) is a significant cause of quality defects associated with red wine spoilage. At least some wine producers spend significant resources to prevent, detect, and mitigate damage from Brett, and many express concern about it, but some producers and consumers say they like it in small doses. Brett damage is especially of concern in premium red wine and has become more of a concern to producers in recent years as consumers have become better informed about it. We combine information from diverse sources to develop an initial understanding of the economics of Brettanomyces and management practices to mitigate its consequences. An analysis of detailed confidential data from three wineries in California reveals that at least some wineries are incurring significant costs to reduce the risk of infection with Brettanomyces. Some other wineries that opt not to spend so much on prevention are incurring higher costs in treating infected wines and in lost value from wines being downgraded to lower-valued blends. Results from an online survey of industry participants reinforce the analysis of the detailed data from the three wineries and suggest that the findings may be indicative of conditions more generally across the industry. (JEL Classifications: D22, D24, L66)

Keywords

Brettanomycescase-studycostdamage mitigationwine faults
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Wine Economics , Volume 16 , Issue 1 , February 2021 , pp. 4 - 31
Copyright
Copyright © American Association of Wine Economists, 2020

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Footnotes

The authors gratefully acknowledge helpful comments and advice from an anonymous reviewer. The authors also extend their gratitude towards the wineries and anonymous sources that provided insight, data, and anecdotes. The work for this project was partly supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award number 2011-51181-30635 (the VitisGen project). The authors are grateful for this support. Views expressed are solely the authors’.

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