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This research addresses the interaction between the components of brand. More specifically, the authors evaluate how the region of origin as a component of a wine brand adds value to a wine purchaser. Previous research suggests that the region of origin equity is significantly moderated by the other wine attributes with which it is combined on the wine label: commercial brand, level of price, type of bottler, grape variety. The authors test whether the moderating effects depend on self-perceived consumer expertise. They use a discrete choice method to survey 1,162 European wine purchasers, about equally selected from France, Austria, Germany, and the UK. Results show that the region of origin equity is indeed significantly moderated by the other wine attributes. They also show these moderating effects are more important for consumers who perceive themselves as “more expert” than for consumers who feel they are “novices.” [EconLit citation: M310]. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Agribusiness 22: 323-341, 2006.

Presents findings validating French and German versions of the domain specific innovativeness scale or DSI, which was designed to measure consumer innovativeness for a specific product category. The data came from self‐administered surveys of 409 consumers in three countries: the USA (n = 121), Germany (n = 113), and France (n = 175). The study participants completed a questionnaire asking them to describe their wine‐related attitudes and behaviours. Data analysis showed that the DSI was unidimensional, high in internal consistency, positively correlated as hypothesised with wine usage (criterion validity), positively correlated as hypothesised with knowledge of and involvement with wine and uncorrelated with opinion seeking for wine (nomological validity), and unaffected by social desirability and acquiescence response styles.

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When adressing the question of cultural differences in consumption behavior, researchers face both conceptual and methodological difficulties, particularly when it comes to defining the relevant "culti unit" (Douglas & Craig 1997) to be taken into account. The authors of this paper discuss these two difficulties and propose the Best-Worst method as a tool for comparing data from a cross-national survey on a sample of wine consumers from Australia (n=283), the UK (n=304) and France (n=147). The comparison concerns the choice criteria that are used when picking a wine in a restaurant. Results show differences between the countries, with a clear contrast between the French, on the one hand, and the Australians and Brtitish, on the other. They confirm the idea that the country, frequently used in cross-national surveys, may be a valid "culti unit" in cross-cultural research.

PurposeThis paper has the purpose of introducing the inaugural issue of the International Journal of Wine Business Research after the re‐launch from the International Journal of Wine Marketing including rationale, scope, goals, and objectives.Design/methodology/approachThe paper provides a rationale for a journal such as IJWBR. It starts by outlining the global wine business as a complex and fruitful field to study, describes some streams of research, and identifies issues for future studies as potential further contributions to this journal.FindingsThere is a critical need for an outlet that provides an overview on current issues and topics in the wine business, promotes high quality research on all aspects related to managing wine and related businesses, and is accessible to both academics and the global wine trade.Originality/valueThis paper is essential for current and prospective readers of the journal and those who consider submitting to IJWBR.

A common approach to analysing markets and selecting the most profitable target consumers is to identify and focus on the heavy users. Although this is a widely used practice in food marketing, no general theory describes the characteristics of heavy users of food products. The purpose of this paper is to use data from four empirical studies to test hypotheses about heavy wine users with the objective of developing a comprehensive model of heavy usage. The topics of the surveys were wine attitudes and behaviours. Data came from samples of students and adult US consumers. The findings showed consistently that heavy wine users were more likely to be interested in and involved with wine. When compared with studies of heavy users in other product fields, the beginnings of a general model of heavy usage that focuses on product involvement rather than demographics can be proposed.

On the basis of an experiment on expectancies disconfirmation and cognitive categorization, this research evaluates consumers' acceptability of low-alcohol wine. Using blind tasting and full tasting of three low-alcohol wines and three regular wines on a sample of 73 consumers, we show the impact of the "low-alcohol" cue on perceived quality. Our main results reveal no significant difference in liking between low-alcohol wine and regular wine. Expectations created by the "low-alcohol" cue have no negative impact on overall evaluation and individual characteristics have almost no effect on wine evaluation. Disconfirmation of expectations and assimilation and contrast effects are observed and discussed.