This paper shows how the hedonic approach to vineyard site selection can be used in the adaptation of vineyard land to climate change, natural disasters or other exogenous events. The basic idea is that, if the relation between weather and grape quality is known for each grape type in existing growing areas, then it is possible to predict the quality of grapes that would be produced in other locations, or in the same location with a changed climate. This permits the optimization of grape type selection for a location and also provides an indication of the value that a particular planting should produce. The relation of grape quality to the weather is provided for several well-known viticultural areas, including Burgundy, Bordeaux, Rioja, and the Piedmont. An application of the method to a new vineyard area in the Czech Republic following the demise of Communism is used to demonstrate the method. (JEL Classifications: O21, Q16, Q18, Q54)

The establishment of quality assurance systems is an important development in the wine sector, particularly so for new and emerging wine regions. Focusing on the Canadian wine industry, this article examines the determinants of a winery's decision to adopt Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) certification for wines. The analysis also examines whether wineries seek VQA certification for higher-priced wines or whether VQA certification leads to higher wine prices. To examine the certification decision, a probit model is applied to a detailed data set of Canadian wines sold in Ontario over the period 2007–2012. Wines from wineries that supply large volumes of wines (more than 1,000 cases) are more likely to have VQA certification, as well as ice wines and wines from specific regions. A Hausman specification test for endogeneity suggests that VQA certification leads to higher wine prices and not the other way around. (JEL Classifications: D22, L15, L66, Q13)

This paper analyzes the determinants of Cognac brandy exports using a unique database on Cognac shipments to more than 140 destinations between 1996 and 2013. We use this database to construct descriptive statistics concerning the evolution of Cognac exports during this period. We also construct a database of protectionist policies that affect worldwide Cognac exports. We analyze the determinants of Cognac exports and base our empirical strategy on Heckman's (1979) procedure. We estimate successively the impact of geographical, demand and policy factors on the extensive margin of trade and the intensive margin of trade. We also control for the possibility of an endogeneity bias on the probability of trade. We show that i) as with other luxury products, the elasticity of Cognac exports to distance is negative, significant, and relatively small, while the elasticity to gross domestic product (GDP) is positive, significant, and relatively large; and ii) average customs duties do not have a significant impact on the intensive margin but significantly and positively affect the probability of trade. We discuss this last result and correct the endogeneity bias using tax revenues of importing countries in percentage of GDP as an instrument. (JEL Classifications: F10, F14)

This article explores the question of what distinguishes novices from experts in wine evaluation. Is it experts’ superior sensory abilities related to taste and smell, their superior cognitive abilities related to knowledge and memory, or a combination of both—and if a combination, which of the two dimensions of expertise, sensory or cognitive, seems to be more important? I address these issues by considering what has been learned in the past 30+ years from research concerning the sensory and cognitive dimensions of expertise in wine evaluation. The research examines expert/novice differences at both the chemical component level (detecting, discriminating among, and describing wine-relevant chemical components) and the holistic level (hedonic evaluation of wine as an integrated manifestation of its components). (JEL Classification: C93)

We evaluate the claim that bottle size formats signal quality changes by performing a controlled laboratory experiment in which we simultaneously auction two different sweet wines: a pomegranate wine and a grape wine. We vary the size of the bottle from 500 mL to 750 mL between participants, but we keep the amount of wine constant across the bottle sizes. We also explore the effect of expectations for the wines, blind tasting, and information about wine attributes on people's willingness to pay (WTP). For both wines, we find evidence consistent with diminishing marginal utility; for the pomegranate wine, we find a premium for the smaller bottle size, which is consistent with changes in the wine's perceived quality. We also find that information is adequate in offsetting the negative effect of the tasting treatment. (JEL Classifications: C23, C24, C91, D12, M31)