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The concept of terroir is institutionalized through geographical indications (GIs) in large parts of the wine-producing world. GIs in wine are associated with certain taste characteristics. Mosel wine is said to be slender and fresh. However, external sources of pressure are recognized as challenging this notion. The purpose of this paper is to explore the narrative construction of Mosel wine and how institutions, markets and climate are presented as having implications for its taste.

Ethnographic fieldwork was carried out over ten weeks during the fall of 2016, consisting of three weeks of participant observation and 12 in-depth interviews. Post-fieldwork, data were interpreted as collective narratives. Additionally, a wide range of written sources on Mosel wine has been analyzed.

It is found that a development toward big-bodied wines was considered a threat to the region’s stylistic image, in which light-bodied wines represented the cornerstone. Consequently, this had triggered introspection and greater discursive attentiveness to “lightness” to preserve the credibility and identity of Mosel as a GI. Findings show that these aesthetic controversies functioned to recreate and consolidate the notion of Mosel wine and its sense of terroir.

Focusing on how taste in wine is narratively produced, this paper utilizes an inductive approach rarely employed within terroir research.

This study aims to analyse how wine attributes affect prices of fine German Riesling wines, provide estimates of the magnitude and heterogeneity of the attributes' implicit prices and draw conclusions on the pricing of fine wine and the research methodology.

Implicit prices of attributes of fine German Rieslings are estimated with fixed-effects regressions and their heterogeneity across quantiles of the conditional price distribution is tested with quantile-regression techniques. The analysis is based on a unique online data set for prices and characteristics of collectible wines.

Quality levels according to the German Prädikat system, additional quality awards for exceptional quality, the wine region, age or vintage as well as ullage and the bottle condition are relevant when explaining the price of cellarable wine. Additionally, the influence of the firm's individual reputation is very strong. Relative price premiums for some major attributes of fine German Riesling change significantly across quantiles of the conditional price distribution. Other attributes are characterised by a rather stable relative (but not absolute) price premium.

This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first hedonic price analysis which concentrates exclusively on fine German Riesling wine. By applying both classical and quantile regressions, the authors are able to derive new insights on quality-price linkages in this growing segment of collectible wine and on the research methodology.

The purpose of this paper is to consider how German wineries can successfully diversify into wine tourism, in an effort to support their primary business activity of producing and selling high quality wine.

A survey questionnaire was created, collected and analysed using the software programme SurveyMonkey.

Results indicate that the implementation of wine tourism by German vintners will be a significant challenge as the respondents report a lack of marketing and tourism management skill and knowledge; most are small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) – which means they have little time or manpower available to devote to developing wine tourism; and there is a low level of reported co‐operation amongst stakeholders.

The research could have taken place over a longer period of time, in order to present more reliable data and also it could have included a more representative sample from other sectors of the industry, such as co‐operatives. The research is also limited in scope to Germany and further comparative studies could be carried out focusing on other wine tourism‐related countries, such as New Zealand, France or Italy.

Wine tourism is a crucial element of both the tourism industry as well as the sector of viniculture. Wine tourism marketing strategies fail to meet the expectations of either the vintners or the tourists. However, wine tourism is vitally important for vineyards as it helps to create brand loyalty and to establish customer relationships.

There is a strong need to create marketing strategies which strike a balance between developing and promoting wine tourism and the core activity of the vineyards, which is to produce and sell wine.

The availability of literature in English on German wine tourism is scarce and this study is significant, especially because wine tourism in Germany is a relatively new phenomenon. The development of appropriate marketing strategies is therefore required to successfully improve wine tourism.

Positioning via quality is key for German wineries. The aim of the study was to explore reputational variables (collective and firm reputation) the study as well as limits of reputational effects.

A multi-dimensional approach, taking a supplier perspective, accessing multiple sources and evaluating Germany serves to explore exogenous factors on reputation. Descriptive and regression analyses examine individual and collective reputational effects for jury grades as proxy for quality and price as the dependent variables.

For collective reputation, region and cooperative memberships strongly matter, whereby region can be a competitive disadvantage and membership shows superior impact. Being a private but managed winery and belonging to a closed quality circle maximizes quality reputation. Strategic grouping has a distinctive effect, not size. Germany specificities and illustration to the obstacles of free-ridership are delivered.

Strategic management (including location) help to create a reputational profile. Growth should not be motivated by reputation. Different strategies for the wine guides to build reputation can be pursued, but conquering the top league is a challenge, especially in case of negative collective reputation.

For academia, the value of the study consists mainly in the discovery of the dominance of membership in a quality circle and its impact on collective reputation, and the creative multi-dimensional and multi-source approach. Also, cross-guide analysis is new. Practitioners can tailor a specific strategy vis-Ã -vis guides on the basis of the created transparency.

This paper aims to put Germany on par with other countries in terms of academic research on the topic of wine tourism from a producers’ perspective.

For this study, 199 in-depth interviews and 703 online questionnaires with winery operators in Germany were collected and analyzed according to a mixed-methods framework.

The results indicate that wine tourism is highly relevant not only for wineries but also for the families behind the predominantly small companies. The respondents reported increased demand for wine tourism activities, particularly those that are close to large cities. The findings show that the main challenges in the German wine tourism sector are to achieve a coordinated collaboration among stakeholders and to stop the ongoing concentration process in the restaurant industry.

Appropriate strategic decisions backed by governmental support may help to enhance Germany’s developing wine tourism industry, thereby preserving cultural heritage and strengthening some of the country’s structurally disadvantaged rural areas.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work is the first mixed-methods framework study in the research field of wine tourism that includes producers from all wine regions in one country.

The topic of whistleblowing is achieving prominence as a question of social policy. Some influential voices are suggesting that far from whistleblowing — informing on organisations —, being socially undesirable, it may in certain circumstances be an activity deserving high praise. Inevitably it entails huge risks to the activist, and these risks need to be personally and carefully considered. John Banham, Director General of the Confederation of British Industry, wrote in support of the Social Audit report on the subject (Winfield 1990), and a committee established by the Speaker of the House of Commons has suggested the possibility of honouring whistleblowers in the British Honours system for their good corporate citizenship. There have also been landmark reports in America, Australia and Canada (Leahy 1978, Electoral and Administrative Review Commission 1990, Ontario Law Reform Commission 1986).

The Internet has been heralded as having the potential to completely revolutionise the way organisations conduct their business and cited as the most rapidly adopted medium of our time. This study investigates Internet usage in the context of Hawke's Bay wineries within New Zealand. Although web potential has been well documented, the reality lags somewhat behind. A survey of thirty‐six Hawke's Bay winery websites was conducted applying a content analysis method previously used within the international wine sector. The results show positive adoption of current web technology. However, the analysis shows potential still remains for better utilisation by wineries of the web. There appears to be significant room to add value to websites and emphasise a range of brand and relationship building activities. Such a policy could confer competitive advantage and add another option for global exposure for wineries committed to incorporating a fully functioning web dimension into their long‐term marketing strategy. International markets will increase in importance as New Zealand wine production continues to rise steeply.

This exploratory study aims to investigate the national adoption of international wine industry trends in Germany. Specifically, the paper consider this adoption as perceived by luxury German wine producers in three wine regions. This study addresses two main questions: what impact do regional German traditions have on techniques used by small wine producers in the super‐premium + segment? Are these traditions balanced with the adoption of New World techniques and trends in viticulture and viniculture?

Due to the complex nature of the research questions and to provide rich, meaningful descriptions, this study adopted a qualitative method. The researchers did semi‐structured interviews with five highly respected German winemakers in the Rheingau, Württemberg and Baden regions.

This study shows that German wine producers are heavily influenced by Old World philosophy and traditions as well as New World concepts and technology. Successful wine producers appear to create a balance between the gastronomic identity of the region with advantages of new technologies, business models and trends. Research limitations/implications – The study has been conducted in only three wine regions in Germany. In addition, this study employed the case study approach. Future research could use large sample proposition testing to investigate if the findings from this study can be statistically confirmed and are applicable to other countries.

German wine producers can learn much from New World business models. In particular, revised organizational forms that allow wine producers increased access to travel and promotion of products can assist in increasing demand for quality products as well as on‐going learning through interaction with others in the industry.

German wine is an important subject for academic study, however, it is under‐researched. This exploratory study provides several implications for small to medium‐sized wine producers in Germany.

The study of wine labels can be a non vinous entry to the wine world. There was self labelling of vats before 3000BC — followed by that of smaller vessels, and later, corks. Paper labels were used in the nineteenth century, and became compulsory in the twentieth. To assess a wine, the grape variety, the soil of the area indicated, and the climate, will form the platform upon which to impose the effect of the complicated regulations appearing on the front label. It may be necessary to discount near deception, or over advertisement. The basic wine laws of two countries are highlighted in order to appraise three illustrated labels. Concluding are brief indicative notes of some other countries.