New World and Mediterranean wine tourism: A comparative analysis

This is a theoretical paper providing a comparative overview of wine tourism in the New World and Europe – particularly the Mediterranean region. The review is timely because while there has been substantial wine tourism research in Anglophone countries, less has occurred in Europe, despite the fact that it has such a long history of wine production. The paper suggests a series of differences between the two areas based on both structural factors affecting the context in which wine is produced. These contextual factors relate both to wine supply and to demand, and include production factors, appellation systems, attitudes to business, producer commitment, consumption patterns, the search for experience, and the stimulus to wine tourism. The paper also considers aspects of the practice of wine tourism, including events, education and the cellar door experience, before offering some underlying themes and areas for future research

Product patriotism: How consumption practices make and maintain national identity

In today’s society, globalization and global flows are ubiquitous and undeniable. Consequently, it is possible to question the role and importance of national identity in consumption choices. This research inductively develops a theory for product patriotism, defined as how consumers construe their identity through nationally-iconic product consumption. A typology is proposed, outlining four possible virtual national identity positions consumers may occupy relative to their stocks of cultural capital, relational orientation toward the nation and situational contingencies. Product patriotism as a framework is distinct from past research that a) narrowly focuses on spectacular or positive forms of nationalistic consumption, b) segments consumers based on nationalistic or patriotic traits, and c) focuses mostly on brands. The novel framework of product patriotism provides new insight into the social patterning of consumers’ reflexive, negotiated decoding of national identities, the dynamism of national identity, and the enduring significance of consumption when enacting national identities

High index contrast polysiloxane waveguides fabricated by dry etching

The authors demonstrate the production of low loss enhanced index contrast waveguides by reactive ion etching of IPG™ polysiloxane thin films. The use of a silica mask and CHF₃∕O₂etch gas led to large etch selectivity between the silica and IPG™ of >20 and etch rates of >100nm∕min. This work indicates that compact optical circuits could be successfully fabricated for telecommunication applications using polysiloxane films.The support of the Australian Research Council through its Linkage grant and Federation Fellow programs is gratefully acknowledged as well as the financial support of RPO Inc

Aesthetic logics, terroir and the lamination of grower champagne

This paper examines how aesthetic institutional logics and objects shape markets. We focus on the champagne field, for which dominant category conventions include luxury, celebration and protected regional origin (exemplified by grande marque champagne). Our attention, however, is on more recent, alternative conventions, such as site-specific terroir and passionate artisanality (exemplified by ‘grower champagne’). In analyzing how trade associations, small-scale producers and wine writers represent champagne, we offer an approach that is sensitive to both top-down and bottom-up dynamics of logics. Drawing on the concept of lamination to provide a processual bridge between category conventions and institutional objects (and thus logics), we find that representations from the three actor groups build up—layering and (at least partially) overlapping—such that both dominant and alternative frames come to shape the champagne field. We suggest how divergent representational practices may be directed at and by a common aesthetic institutional object

Health warnings on wine labels: a discrete choice analysis of Italian and French Generation Y consumers

This paper aims to analyse Generation Y consumers' preferences for, interest in and attitudes towards different formats of health warnings on wine labels in two countries with different legal approaches: France and Italy. A Discrete Choice Experiment was realized on a sample of 500 wine consumers. Three warning options were applied: the long-term effect of drinking (brain damage); a short-term effect (car crash) and no warning option. Four attributes composed the choice set: alcohol content; framing of warning statement; warning size and position. Findings reveal that both the general degree of attention to the label and the level of visibility of the warnings are low, as are their effectiveness in changing consumption. Generation Y tend to prefer the ''no logo option'', short-term effects warnings and a small logo posted on the back label with neutrally framed messages. Results also show some significant differences among preferences in France and Italy, providing inputs to the ongoing debate in the EU on mandatory labelling. Although findings are subject to limitations related to the use of self-reported questionnaire and prone to social-desirability bias, practical implications are clear for private companies interested in implementing marketing strategies focused on enhancing the efficacy and readability of labels. Keywords: Health warning, Wine labelling, Discrete Choice Experimen

Lafite in China

Increased economic power has positioned China within the global elite, yet China’s legitimacy remains low with regard to hierarchies of taste. Drawing from Bourdieu and Elias, this article offers an account of the global dynamics of status contests, and the role played by cultural capital and notions of civility and vulgarity. Specifically, we examine how U.S., UK, and Chinese media represent Chinese consumption of fine wine, and particularly that of Château Lafite, in the 2000 to 2013 period. Our analysis reveals four major ways in which Chinese fine wine consumption is framed—as vulgar, popular, functional, and discerning—and highlights tensions between Western and Chinese terms of cultural legitimacy. The research uncovers nuanced dimensions to the “East/West” divide in terms of the grades of cultural capital, competing logics of valuation, and modes of civility at play. Macromarketing implications of fine wine consumption in a fragmented and complex market are discussed

The artification of wine: lessons from the fine wines of Bordeaux and Burgundy

In this paper, we address the interrelations between fine art and fine wines, with ‘fine wine’ defined as an aesthetic entity as opposed to a mass-produced product created only to satisfy consumer needs. In the context of fine wines, we discuss the processes of artification, through which such wines are recognized as art (Shapiro and Heinich 2012), and heritagization, in which the cultural differentiation implicit in the concept of terroir (i.e., the various elements of a micro-climate that contribute to a wine’s specific attributes) connects a wine to its history and provenance. Our investigation focuses specifically on fine wines from Bordeaux and Burgundy, which are renowned worldwide for their depth and flavors. What traits are intrinsic to the definition of art, and what social processes culminate in transforming an entity from non-art to art? This article aims to address these questions, and argues that fine wines, as a source of aesthetic pleasure, are themselves an art form

Building restaurant wine lists: a study in conflict

Abstract While the situation in which a consumer makes a wine consumption choice has previously been examined the influence of those providing the range of choice at a restaurant has not been fully explored as part of the context of consumption. This qualitative study, based on interviews with restaurant wine list managers, investigates wine list creators' perceptions of customer interaction with the wine list. The findings show that how restaurateurs perceive their customers' desires will influence their wine list offering. However the findings from this study uncover a struggle that the restaurateurs face in creating a wine list, reflecting business and emotional needs, in the face of their perception of a customer's desire for safe but varied experiences. This study has implications for, and informs the understanding of, those who market wine for sale through the restaurants. It furthers understanding of how those who are gate keepers of wine lists take perceived customer expectations as a guide to create a wine list which contributes to a unique customer experience. A greater understanding of the motivation of the restaurateurs, as they seek to meet customer needs, allows wine marketers to engage in targeted marketing decisions for specific wine types and brands