More than forty published works show that women and men differ in their taste preferences for sweet, salt, sour, bitter, fruit, and other flavors. Despite those differences, dozens of state fair and other wine competitions determine winners' ribbons, medals, scores, and ranks by pooling the opinions of female and male judges. This article examines twenty-three blind wine tastings during which female and male judges scored more than nine hundred wines. Two-sample t-test results show that the gender-specific distributions of scores do have similar means and standard deviations. Exact p-values for two-sample chi-square tests show that the distributions of men's and women's scores are not significantly different, and exact p-values for likelihood ratio tests of Plackett-Luce model results show that the genders' preference orders are not significantly different. The correlation coefficient between women's and men's scores is weakly positive in 90 percent of the tastings. On that evidence, indications that the genders prefer different wines are difficult to detect. If such differences do exist, as the nonwine literature implies, the results of this analysis show that those differences are small compared to non-gender-related idiosyncratic differences between individuals and random expressions of preference. The potential for accept-a-false-null-hypothesis Type II error when pooling female and male judges' wine-related opinions appears to be small. (JEL Classifications: A10, C10, C00, C12, D12)

Austria has a quite small cooperative sector, only about 10 to 15% of all Austrian wine is produced by wine cooperatives. The first wine cooperative was established in 1882 (Eisenstadt-Ruster-Weinproduzentenverein). An intense wave of cooperative establishment took place in Austria and Germany at the beginning of the 20th century, lasting through the 1960s, that was due to the unfortunate general socio-economic situation of vintners.

Since the beginning of 2006, the federation of wine producers (Inter-Rhône) offers its members (wine producers of the Rhône Valley) protection against wine price risks giving them the option to sell a portion of their production at €80 per hl, regardless of the prevailing market price. This risk management tool has the general features of an American put option with a strike price of 80 €/hl. Two mechanisms are used to reduce the hedging cost: the introduction of a barrier “up and out”, and the option to force producers to implement a non-optimal exercise strategy. We present two pricing models of this option (with and without barrier) followed by an application using the Inter-Rhône wine price data base. The cost of the first protection mechanism (without barrier) is about €10 per hi (i.e., 13.3 % of the current price) but only about €8 for the second (with barrier) representing 10.7 % of the current price. Beyond its traditional role of protection against price fluctuation, the option may also have a positive impact on price levels by stopping panic movements and strengthening the negotiating power of producers. (JEL Classification: Q14, G32)

The Italian market of sparkling wines increases as volume and assortment (such as brands, appellations, typologies) mainly because of sparkling Prosecco consumption. We investigate the repeated purchase behavior of sparkling wines in two years within the supermarket channel through scanner data collected from a consumer panel. We propose a Hidden Markov Model to analyze these data, assuming an unobservable process to capture consumers’ preferences and allowing us to consider purchases sparsity over time. We consider multivariate responses defining types of purchases, namely price, appellation, and sugar content. Customers’ covariates influence the initial and transition probabilities of the latent process. We identify five market segments, and we track their evolution over time. One segment includes Prosecco-oriented consumers, and we show that loyalty to Prosecco changes strongly over time according to the region of residence, income, and family type. The findings improve the understanding of the market and may provide evidence to design successful marketing strategies. (JEL Classifications: C33, C51, D12, L66)

The objectives of this paper are (1) to broaden the concept and importance of differentiating statistical significance from clinical or practical significance that was introduced in a recent oenologie application that appeared in this Journal (Cicchetti, 2007); (2) to highlight the major contribution of Economics to the clinical-statistical significance differentiation; (3) to provide oenologie researchers with the tools to accomplish this objective; and (4) to provide examples of oenologie applications using these biostatistical tools. Results indicate that the terms clinical significance, effect sizes, the just noticeable difference between stimuli, and the economic term marginal utility are conceptually related and when applied to the results of oenologie research, offer a richness of interpretation that levels of statistical significance alone cannot provide. (JEL Classification: C0, C1)

This article examines how selected attributes of Bordeaux fine wines (producer, vintage, quality, bottle size, case, flaws, and transaction volume) affect prices in three types of trading venues: auctions, electronic exchange, and the over-the-counter (OTC) market. The findings indicate a price differentiation across the venues. Wine aging leads to relatively higher prices at auctions than on the electronic exchange or the OTC. There is a nearly linear relationship between prices and wine ratings, the strongest of which is found in the case of auctions. The bottle size effect is mostly positive for supersized formats and is the strongest on an electronic exchange and the weakest at auctions. The transaction volume negatively affects wine prices in all the trading venues. The simulation results facilitate the construction of more realistic trading models and may help traders make more informed decisions on the choice of a trading venue, depending on the wine characteristics. (JEL Classifications: D40, G12, Q14, L66)

This article presents a new experimental protocol for estimating consumers’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) for products involved in a reshuffle of geographical indications (GIs), e.g., a change of hierarchical levels within a restricted area. Although the collective reputation of a given GI depends on its temporal stability, reshuffling a GI area could make it better aligned with product quality or consumers’ perception. We first provide a simple theoretical model in which consumers put a negative value on within-GI quality variance, thereby showing that reshuffling the GI designation scheme may increase WTP without any change in product quality. Using the experimental protocol, we evaluate consumer perceptions of different reshuffling scenarios for the vineyards of Marsannay, Burgundy, France. The results reveal a significant increase in WTP for the current distribution of products’ quality. Elicited WTP values are then used to simulate the optimal GI reshuffle. (JEL Classifications: L66, Q18, Q28)

This paper analyzes wine price dispersion in the United Kingdom. In particular, we are interested in examining whether Fairtrade wines are different from non-Fairtrade wines. Because Fairtrade wines serve an additional social purpose, one may think that consumers search less aggressively for the outlet with the lowest price, thus allowing for a larger price dispersion than for regular wines. We draw on data for about seven thousand wines from South Africa, Fairtrade and non-Fairtrade, sold in the United Kingdom between 2007 and 2012. In a first step, we run a hedonic regression model explaining the wine prices using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS) Instrumental Variable (IV) approaches. In the next step, we regress the squared residuals from the first step on a Fairtrade 0-1 dummy-variable. When using the squared residuals from the OLS model, we find that Fairtrade is a negative determinant of price dispersion. Therefore, Fairtrade wines exhibit a significant lower price dispersion than the comparison group. When using the squared residuals from the IV model, we find mixed results and suspect the presence of a substantial bias due to weak instruments. Finally, in order to avoid IV pitfalls, we ran Fairtrade and Non-Fairtrade wines in separate equations. We find support for the OLS results, i.e., Fairtrade wines appear to exhibit lower price dispersion than their non-Fairtrade counterparts. Whether this is due to consumer search is a priori unclear. (JEL Classifications: L31, L81, Q11)

We measure the effects of consumer-perceived regional brand equity on future intentions toward regional wine purchases and winery visits for U.S.-based North Carolina (NC) wines. Visitor data were collected at 23 regional wineries, including demographics, motives, and perceptions of and intentions toward NC wines. SPSS™ and SmartPLS™ were employed in analyzing the model presented. Knowledge and regional wine brand equity influence wine consumer motives, which in turn affect intentions. Product-centered motives were more important than experience motives for visiting regional wineries. (JEL Classifications: L66, L83, M31)

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 explores the nonlinearities of the bivariate distribution of Bordeaux en primeur, or wine futures, prices and Parker “barrel ratings” for the period of 2004 through 2010. In particular, copula-function methodology is introduced and employed to examine the nature of the bivariate distribution. Our results show a significant nonlinear relationship between Parker ratings and wine prices, characterized by significant positive tail dependence and higher correlation between high ratings and high prices. Marginal distributions for Parker ratings and wine prices are then identified and Monte Carlo simulation is employed to operationalize the relationship for risk-management purposes. (JEL Classifications: C19, G13, L66)

Although they have often been found to be technically inefficient, cooperatives not only have survived in the wine industry but continue to play major roles in most European countries. Because the specific advantages of their “organizational architecture” (resource pooling and decentralization) seem to outweigh the disadvantages (vaguely defined property rights and high monitoring costs), this paper discusses organizational measures to improve the performance of cooperatives by addressing three different aspects of “organizational design” (managing entry and exit, motivating members, and investing in corporate culture). (JEL Classifications: D22, D23, L14, L21, L31)

The coherence and systemic strength of the collaborative process among thematic route stakeholders are key factors to economic success for individual businesses and regional economic development. The objective of this article is to identify the economic action set to rejuvenate the Cider Route and the Wine Route of the Montérégie region (Quebec, Canada). Group concept mapping is used to estimate the conceptualization and perceptions of stakeholders (cideries, wineries, tourism professionals, visitors) regarding the articulation of the action set. The contribution is threefold. Methodologically, the approach taken supports both the estimation of the concept map and associated perception measures. Empirically, eight action clusters are identified to articulate stakeholders’ “organizational” and “selling” dimensions of the routes. Practically, action priorities identified and feasibility constraints are helpful to target the capability development support needed by route stakeholders to collaborate. (JEL Classifications: D02, L23, L26, L66, Q18)

Another quiet revolution is taking place in the alcoholic beverage markets: a trend toward lower-alcohol and even no-alcohol beverages, especially in the world's higher-income countries. This new trend adds to the long-term consumer trend in affluent countries of substituting quality for quantity in many of their purchases (premiumization), which, in the case of alcoholic beverages, has been driven largely by a desire for a healthier lifestyle. More-affluent consumers also desire a greater variety than is typically available from large producers of regular products, which has led to a craft beverage revolution. Both desires—for lower-alcohol beverages and a greater variety of quality offerings—are driving this so-called low- or no-alcohol revolution. The trend is just beginning to show up in wine (and spirits) markets, but it began developing much earlier in beer markets. The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent of the latter and the consumer forces behind it. Since Australian brewers are leading the way globally in building various Lo-No beer categories, and thereby contributing substantially to lowering that nation's alcohol consumption, its trends are highlighted and compared with global trends. The paper concludes by drawing out lessons and prospects for lower-alcohol beer and wine.

We use the expectation-disconfirmation and categorization theories to study the effects of sensory versus nonsensory cues relative to a transformed attribute on categorization and typicality judgments relative to a new food product. In an experiment involving 51 participants and low-alcohol wines (new products), we show that categorization and typicality judgments differ according to sensory versus nonsensory cues. The new transformed product is categorized more often in its original category—wine—and perceived as more typical in the nonsensory compared to the sensory condition. (JEL Classifications: L66, M31)

While France leads the way in the Chinese import market of wine, China is France's third largest wine export market by value. In this article, I analyze the determinants of France's wine exports to China, differentiated by French wine growing regions. I estimate a simple demand using a dataset on wine shipments of 100 different types of French bottled wines to China between 1998 and 2015. I find a wide range of income and price effects across French regions—a range not unlike those found by studies spanning multiple countries. Bordeaux wines exhibit the largest Chinese income elasticity. However, other French regions appear to catch up. Price elasticity, meanwhile, is particularly low for highly reputable wines, but quite high for wines targeting middle-class customers and wines from regions traditionally known for white wines. (JEL Classifications: F10, F14, L66, Q17)

Much research shows that women and men have different taste acuities and preferences. If female and male judges tend to assign different ratings to the same wines, then the gender balances of the judge panels will bias awards. Existing research supports the null hypothesis, however, that finding is based on small sample sizes. This article presents the results for a large sample; 260 wines and 1,736 wine-score observations. Subject to the strong qualification that non-gender-related variation is material, the results affirm that female and male judges do assign about the same ratings to the same wines. The expected value of the difference in their mean ratings is zero. (JEL Classifications: A10, C00, C10, C12, D12)

In this paper, we use copula-GARCH models applied to daily data from March 2010 to March 2018 to test the time-varying dependence of the Liv-ex 50, a secondary market fine wine index comprised of the ten most recent vintages of the five Bordeaux First Growths, with a portfolio composed of the six main stock markets (S&P 500, CAC 40, DAX 30, FTSE 100, and Hang Seng). Our results suggest that the Liv-ex 50 underperforms the six stock indexes, but provides diversification benefits in terms of volatility, asymmetry, and extreme events. (JEL Classifications: G110, G120, Q14)

This paper analyzes the impact of annual weather fluctuations on the total output of wine and on the share of output of different wine-quality categories in Germany, using a set of wine data from all thirteen German wine regions and daily weather data taken from regional weather stations. The empirical analysis suggests that rising average temperatures have a significantly positive impact on the total output of wine as well as on the output shares of wine in higher-quality categories. The number of freezing days appears to be detrimental to overall production; precipitation during the growing season impairs higher-quality wines in particular. (JEL Classifications: Q21, Q13)