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The purpose of this paper is to identify the drivers of customer satisfaction (CS) and sales performance at wineries in the Finger Lakes region of New York State in the context of changes winery tasting rooms implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A survey was administered to tasting room visitors at two wineries in October 2020 in the Finger Lakes region of New York State resulting in 215 usable survey responses measuring customer satisfaction. A factor analysis was used to identify primary factors influencing overall CS. The authors then modeled how these primary factors, along with various demographic factors, influence sales metrics. The results are then compared with previous estimates of such drivers in pre-COVID tasting rooms.

The authors identified four main CS factors: Staff Interactions, Wine Tasting, COVID-19 Precautions and Ambience that play a significant role in overall CS. Of these, Wine Tasting was shown to have a positive influence on total amount spent and the number of bottles purchased, whereas COVID-19 Precautions positively impacted the number of bottles purchased. Overall, CS is also shown to positively impact total amount spent and number of bottles purchased. Customers are shown to prefer some changes to the tasting room due to COVID-19, such as having table service and reservations.

This is the first study researching the influence of certain tasting room changes implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic has had on CS and wine-purchasing decisions in tasting rooms.

The purpose of this paper is to study the linkages between customer satisfaction (CS) and sales performance among wineries in New York State's Finger Lakes region.

A survey instrument was used to collect data from visitors to winery tasting rooms in the Finger Lakes. Responses from 457 visitors were collected from nine wineries during the period June 2010 through November 2010. The authors used a factor analysis to identify the primary drivers of CS. Then, the authors modeled the relationship between these drivers and overall CS and assessed the impact of CS on sales, purchase and repurchase intentions.

The authors found five principal drivers of CS: ambience, tasting protocol, service, retail execution, and tasting experience. Of these, ambience and service exerted the most influence on overall CS. Furthermore, as expected, CS significantly influences purchase intentions, the amount of dollars spent and quantity purchased.

The results provide valuable information to winery tasting room managers/owners on measures they can use to improve sales performance. Identifying attributes of the tasting room that generate a positive customer reaction can help winery managers/owners make profit-maximizing decisions.

While the links between CS and sales performance have been established in other product sectors, few studies have focused on a comprehensive assessment of CS and sales performance in wine tasting rooms.

The purpose of this paper is to provide insights to relevant theories, challenges and the future opportunities for binational tourism in the Niagara region.

A selected cross‐section of relevant publications including news media items are reviewed. Data gathered by a group of graduate students from Niagara College during their externships with the Binational Tourism Alliance, are utilized. Binational tourism initiatives from different parts of the world are analyzed.

This paper implies that in order to strategize binational tourism in Niagara, relevant theories, international best practices, historic developments of binational initiatives in Niagara as well as news media reports should be analysed. It concludes that Niagara's tourism industry, on both sides of the border, must continue to work in close partnership on their binational tourism strategy and binational positioning in order to remain competitive as a major tourist destination in the world.

Inputs from the Executive Director of the Binational Tourism Alliance of the Niagara region as a co‐author, enhances the practical value of this paper. Not much research has been undertaken on the topic of binational tourism in Niagara. Therefore, particularly, the tourism policy makers as well as other stakeholders of tourism in the Niagara region should benefit from this paper.

The purpose of this paper is to study the impact that tasting sheet sensory descriptors have on wine sales in tasting rooms that rely on direct-to-consumer sales to sell the majority of their wines, such as those in New York wine regions.

Nine tasting rooms participated in the study that took place on weekends (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) during a six-week period in July and August 2012. Tasting rooms alternated tasting sheets by weekend, one including sensory descriptors and one omitting sensory descriptors. At the end of each weekend, tasting room managers compiled information on daily wine bottle and (in the case of seven wineries) dollar sales. A multivariate statistical model was created to measure the relationship between the treatment (tasting sheet with or without descriptors) and wine sales, controlling for other variables that could influence wine sales.

The authors found that both bottle and dollar sales were higher when tasting sheets without sensory descriptors were used, with dollar sales statistically significant at the 10 percent level. Other variables that impacted wine sales included the specific tasting room, the day of the weekend, and festivals occurring in the area.

Many tasting rooms, particularly in New York, rely on the tasting room for the majority of wine sales. Determining factors that affect sales can help tasting room managers/owners optimize the tasting room experience for maximized profits.

While there have been studies involving the impact of descriptors on sales of food and wine products, these studies have all taken place in a grocery store or restaurant setting where many different brands and varieties are offered. There has been no research studying the impact of descriptors on wine sales in the tasting room, where tasters have a limited selection and an option to sample products before purchasing. There has also been little research studying aspects of tasting sheets.

In 2004 and 2007, the Kauffman Foundation awarded 18 universities and colleges $3–5 million dollars each to develop radiant model entrepreneurship education programs and campus-wide entrepreneurial ecosystems. Grant recipients were required to have a senior level administrator to oversee the program who reported to the Provost, President, or Chancellor. Award recipients included Syracuse University (2007) and the University of Rochester (2004). Cornell was not a Kauffman campus. This chapter explores three case studies in the radiant model of university-wide entrepreneurship education as deployed at Cornell University, The University of Rochester, and Syracuse University. The authors examine the history, accelerators, and challenges of the radiant model of university-wide entrepreneurship education.

This study aims to investigate the alignment of experience economy design priorities and perceptions of rural wine tourism suppliers (i.e. winery-farm owners, restaurateurs retailers, lodging providers, attraction operators) with tourists’ perceived experiences.

Adapting the 4E (educational, escapist, esthetic and entertainment) measurement scales of Oh et al. (2007), a cross-sectional survey design was used to gather data from 169 suppliers and 970 wine tourists. Factor analyses, t-tests and ANOVA tests were used to explore differences.

Supply-side cohesion among the four supplier groups appeared across all experiential design priorities and across three of the 4Es regarding their perceptions of the destination; esthetics was the exception. Significant differences between suppliers’ design priorities and visitors’ experiential perceptions were found on three experiential dimensions, and alignment on esthetics was revealed.

Unique attributes of the destination may have affected the results with further development of the supplier measurement scale recommended. Results of the tests that used surrogate variables should be approached with caution.

The study underscores the esthetic experience’s importance to wine tourists and suppliers alike. Results suggest where suppliers should focus their efforts to improve wine tourists’ experiences and what suppliers may expect to emphasize rather than those emphasized by destination managers, i.e. entertainment and education.

This is the first study to compare experience economy priorities of multiple supply-side stakeholders and wine tourists’ perceived experiences.

This study aims to determine white wine drinkers’ interest in Grüner Veltliner wine, a potential signature wine for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the USA and identify the consumer segments likely to look for and purchase this wine varietal.

A total of 676 wine consumers from the Mid-Atlantic region in the USA were compared based on familiarity with Grüner Veltliner wine, variety-seeking (VARSEEK) scores and the likelihood of looking for and purchasing Pennsylvania Grüner Veltliner wine.

Although only a third of participants had some experience with Grüner Veltliner wine, 77% were “somewhat interested” to “very interested” in being able to sample and taste the wine, and 66%–67% were “somewhat likely” to “very likely” to look for and purchase the wine from both growing regions. Generation, wine consumption behavior and familiarity with Pennsylvania wine and Grüner Veltliner wine differed between participants based on purchase intent and VARSEEK scores (i.e. low VARSEEK/likely, high VARSEEK/unlikely). Differences in factors motivating Grüner Veltliner purchasing were also identified between low VARSEEK/likely and high VARSEEK/likely participants.

The paper presents evidence of potential demand for a signature wine from an emerging wine region. This provides direction for target marketing and related promotional strategy, along with identifying wine consumers interested in tasting and purchasing the wine.

This is a selective annotated bibliography of the literature on Christopher Columbus from 1970 to 1989. The subject is particularly relevant considering the approach of the Quincentenary of the “discovery” of America in 1992. For that same reason, there has been an outpouring of literature on the subject since 1990, a significant subset of which contributes to are interpretation of Columbus the man, his voyages, and their impact on the new world. It is hoped that this more recent literature will be part of a subsequent annotated bibliography.

In a world in which “England's green and pleasant land” sets the standard for garden excellence, gardeners in much of the United States will struggle in vain to adapt the British style to their own volatile climates. American regional gardening literature offers a new vision to help gardeners throughout the United States select plants suited to their climates (especially native plants) and use techniques to prevent losses to cold, heat, humidity, or drought. The resulting gardens may not always resemble the traditional English her baceous border, but their beauty and vigor will enhance the often monotonous American suburban landscape.