Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to use the experiential view of consumption to better understand the nature of the motivations of the wine tourist in a congested wine region environment. It also aims to determine the impact of travel antecedents such as the perceived characteristics of the wine region, information sources utilised, and previous knowledge of the region and its products on the destination decision-making process and ultimately the visitation motivations. Design/methodology/approach -Information is obtained from a random sample of 304 respondents from 12 wineries representing all size groups situated on the Paarl Wine Route (PWR) in South Africa. Data are collected through the use of a self-administered, highly structured questionnaire, self-completed by respondents at each of the winery cellar door venues. Findings -The most important characteristic of the entire winescape is the region's scenic beauty. Other high impact characteristics are the friendly people and their hospitality, overall ambience and the diversity of wine estates. These factors point to hedonic behaviour in a highly social context and primarily a search for enjoyment/pleasure, mainly by first-time visitors. The dynamic of first-time and repeat visitation plays a key role in visitors' wine tourism behaviour. The decision to engage in wine tourism is generally impulsive, even spurious, the visit duration short and the motivations guiding the visitors' behaviour predominantly hedonic in nature.Research limitations/implications -The impact of the natural landscape underlines the premise that an experiential research approach can yield valuable insights and sheds new light on the fact that a memorable experience for a wine tourist does not only evolve inside the winery's cellar door. In the process it exposits what could be unique selling points for marketing differently positioned wine regions.Originality/value -This study is of value to academic researchers, travel and accommodation providers and wine industry practitioners alike as it highlights important aspects of wine tourism behaviour with regard to the actual (underlying) motivations that drive them to visit cellar doors in a wine region.

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Adult articular cartilage exhibits little capacity for intrinsic repair, and thus even minor injuries or lesions may lead to progressive damage and osteoarthritic joint degeneration, resulting in significant pain and disability. While there have been numerous attempts to develop tissue-engineered grafts or patches to repair focal chondral and osteochondral defects, there remain significant challenges in the clinical application of cell-based therapies for cartilage repair. This paper reviews the current state of cartilage tissue engineering with respect to different cell sources and their potential genetic modification, biomaterial scaffolds and growth factors, as well as preclinical testing in various animal models. This is not intended as a systematic review, rather an opinion of where the field is moving in light of current literature. While significant advances have been made in recent years, the complexity of this problem suggests that a multidisciplinary approach -combining a clinical perspective with expertise in cell biology, biomechanics, biomaterials science and high-throughput analysis will likely be necessary to address the challenge of developing functional cartilage replacements. With this approach we are more likely to realise the clinical goal of treating both focal defects and even large-scale osteoarthritic degenerative changes in the joint.

PurposeExploratory research was conducted in a well‐known Australian wine region to determine the differences in the behaviour dynamics and sensory preferences of consumer groups. The overall aim is to gain some insights into the product style preferences of consumers and what this means in practical terms to wine product marketing.Design/methodology/approachInformation was obtained from a random sample of 150 visitors to ten wineries in the Yarra Valley wine region in Australia. Data were collected by means of self‐administration surveys using a highly structured questionnaire at each of the winery tasting room venues.FindingsSpecific differences exist in the wine consumption behaviour and sensory preferences of males and females and between generational cohorts, specifically Millennial and older consumers. Females drink less wine than males, spend less thereon but tend to “compensate” for this by buying higher priced wine per bottle, which could represent a risk‐reduction strategy. Females are noticeably higher than their male counterparts in white wine consumption, showing a preference for a sweeter wine style at a young age, and reported a strong preference for medium body style wines over light and full‐bodied wines. From a sensory preference viewpoint, fruit tastes and aromas are by far the most important, especially among females, as are vegetative characters, wood/oak, and mouth‐feel characters. More males, on the other hand, preferred the aged characters of wine.Research limitations/implicationsIt is possible to target wine consumers in accordance with their gender and lifecycle stage as far as the sensory and certain behavioural aspects of the product are concerned. However, this should not be oversimplified and drive product marketing strategies in the wrong direction.Originality/valueThis study is of value to academic researchers, wine industry practitioners and other wine distribution channel members alike, as it provides insights into consumer behaviour differences and one of the core tangible aspects of a wine product, namely the sensory preferences of consumers.

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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore different levels of place-based marketing in the form of region of origin strategies used by wineries in their branding efforts. The overall aim is to obtain insights into wine consumer dynamics such as product involvement level, consumption frequency and differences between segments on the basis of gender and age from a regional branding perspective. Design/methodology/approach -Data collection took place by means of a highly-structured online survey of wine consumers across the USA. The request to participate was directed to legal wine drinking age people of 21 years and older to 9,922 e-mail boxes that yielded a response rate of 5.7 percent, finally resulting in 570 usable surveys. Findings -Consumers used regional branding cues, information and images in their assessment and valuation of comparative wine labels. Almost without exception, the addition of regional information on a wine label increased consumer confidence in the quality of the product. Research limitations/implications -Any follow-on work to the study should also include a broader sampling of consumer types throughout the USA and comparisons made with the study to assess the validity of generalising the results here. Practical implications -Regional branding efforts should be targeted at high wine product involvement consumers rather than their low involvement counterparts, as high involvement consumers are likely to be more influenced by brand-based cues. Originality/value -The paper is of value to academic readers, wine industry practitioners and regional trade and tourism associations and other commercial entities that market their products with regional branding cues.