Sustainability in the wine sector

Economies, 2019

This study offers new insights into the sustainable wine market by exploring consumers’ perceptions of product attributes for six categories of wine that have characteristics of sustainability and one conventional wine. The study investigates product-attribute associations that French and Italian consumers attach to sustainable wines, and whether consumers’ involvement with wine and propensity towards ethically-minded behaviours affect their perceptions of sustainable wines. The research employs a cross-country analysis of France and Italy, and uses a free-choice approach to reveal consumers’ perceptions. The perceptual maps highlight the different attribute dimensions associated with conventional wines and sustainable wines. Health benefits, taste, and ethics emerge as the most relevant discriminant dimensions. The study finds that consumers involved with wine demonstrate a greater ability to evaluate product-attribute associations for sustainable wines than do ethically-minded con...

Journal of Cleaner Production, 2013

Purpose-Nowadays, a great importance is attached to the topic 'sustainability' in the wine industry, too. However, it is difficult to define the exact meaning of sustainability in the wine industry, not to mention the cultural discrepancies in different wine growing countries. Design-Therefore, a qualitative study with an open-ended questionnaire was undertaken to compare opinions of producers in seven different countries concerning the definition, the evaluating and their practice of sustainability. The study answers the following research questions: 1) How is sustainability defined in the certain countries? 2) Are there any differences and similarities between sustainable and organic/biodynamic wine? 3) How do consumers react to sustainability from the producer's point of view? Findings-By analysing fifty five interviews, this study shows that there is no common definition for sustainability in the wine industry and that organic/biodynamic is very often mixed up with sustainable farming. In addition, interviewees think that consumers may be positively thinking concerning sustainability, but they are still confused. Practical implication-These results give valuable information for organisations and certification institutes about the understanding and the use of sustainable practices and help them to define principles of sustainability in the wine industry.

Farmers, producers, marketers and research institutes in the wine business seem to be interested and involved in changing the production of wine towards more sustainable methods. However, consumers' positive environmental perception for wine still seems skeptical. Recent studies in the sustainable wine field have heightened the need for exploring winegrowing and winemaking practices and the influence of the eco-label in wine choice decisions. However, even though consumers seem interested in environmentally friendly issues, it is not clear whether they add value to sustainable wines and pay attention to organic labels. So far, there has been little discussion about consumers' perception of such products. This paper aims to examine, through a research background and focus groups, the personal attitudes and expectations of young German and Italian consumers in the purchase of organic wine. Specifically, this work is about the consumers' perception of organic and environmentally friendly wines in order to understand whether the adoption of sustainable practices and the relative eco-certification and labeling system will be an added value for the wine marketplace. Even though the results suggest that there is a positive image of sustainable products, consumers do not strongly relate wine with environmental issues. No significant differences were found between the two groups, which seem very unfamiliar with the term organic when it is related to wine products. However, it seems that the German consumers were more involved and interested in organic products compared to the Italian group. Further studies in quantitative research are needed to clarify the attitudes and values which trigger the purchasing of sustainable wine.

This paper aims to investigate, using an exploratory approach, how environmental values and beliefs about sustainable labelling shape consumer attitude towards sustainable wine. Data were collected with an online survey from 495 Italian wine drinkers in 2013. The survey was advertised through websites, blogs, social networks and emails. Based on background research and literature review, ten hypotheses were tested. Then a structural equation model was constructed using latent variables to test the causal links specified in the model.

Journal of Cleaner Production, 2009

Previous research has suggested that consumers are becoming increasingly concerned by the effects of conventional agricultural food production practices on human health and environmental wellbeing. This study sought to understand whether environmentally sustainable practices in the vineyard would equate to advantages in the wine marketplace.

2020

Previous studies on sustainability support the idea that the introduction of specific projects and certifications on sustainability increase the quality of wine production while specific requirements enhance environmental biodiversity and efficiency considering several aspects, such as water consumption and fertilizer use. These studies are mainly based on case studies and focus in particular on the new world and the USA. Despite this increasing attention, little is still known on Italian wineries considering the country context. The present study sheds the light on the emerging attention on sustainability paid by the Italian wineries presenting their novel dimensions and practices. Empirical evidences are collected through an explorative field study carried out through 21 interviews. The results show a recent rise of sustainable practices in Italian wineries in which the main focus is on environmental issues. The study also presents a comprehensive picture of the sustainability‐rel...

2010

Economia Aziendale Online, 2020

The aim of the paper is to analyse the Italian wine sector with a particular attention to two main promotional determinant factors: the Italian wine culture and the Italian wine sustainability. The scope of the analysis is to verify how much certain elements influence the development of oenological economy. Wine culture defines both traditions and productive experiences linked to the territory combined with art and literature which, in the landscapes and human activities, have always found their sources of inspirations. So, considering this premise wine is a “medium” to cope the various elements interacting in the territorial frame. On the other hand, wine sustainability refers to general principles of environmental, social and economic safeguard and wellness referred to the wine world. The aim of this article is to focus the readers’ attention on the world of wine in Italy analysing strengths and weaknesses: the objective of study is the combination between culture and sustainabili...

2016

The Italian wine sector shows an increasing interest towards sustainability issues. As a result, a wide number of programs and initiatives concerning environmental, social and economic sustainability has been developed in recent years. The aim of this manuscript is to describe the adaptation of the Sicilian wine sector to the new scenario of sustainable productions. To this purpose a direct survey of 5 Sicilian wineries involved in two different sustainability programs, SOStain and Magis, was carried out. The findings of the study reveal that the sustainability path undertaken by the wineries analyzed has led to management awareness that company activities can ensure social and human benefits, as well as fulfill environmental and economic objectives in the long term.

A. Lindgreen, M.K. Hingley, D. Harness, P. Custance (Eds.), “Market Orientation. Trasforming Food and Agribusiness around the Customer” Gower Publishing, Aldershot, U.K. ISBN 978-0-566-092084., 2010

"Organic agriculture as a cultural evolution originated in an environmentalist culture. Focus on organic products derived from demand for healthy foods with high quality standards that limited the use of chemical substances. This chapter analyses knowledge about organic product consumption in general and wine consumption in particular. The resulting framework for organic wine shows that the sector is still expanding, though organic wine consumption remains limited to a few consumers. Not only are these consumers few in number, but they seem less affected by the organic certification in terms of their choice; it is just another factor, along with place of origin and brand, to consider. For this type of product at least, the value connected with the organic product concept appears to have unexpressed potential."