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Previous research suggests that constructions of legitimacy play a central role in the development of markets, yet little attention has been given to how that legitimacy is constructed through the material practices of market actors. This paper aims to address this gap via an examination of cultural intermediaries in the fine wine market of Shanghai.

An interpretive thematic analysis was carried out on data from 13 semi-structured interviews with fine wine intermediaries based primarily in Shanghai (5 wine writers/educators; 5 sommeliers/retailers; 3 brand representatives).

The dimensions of the legitimation of wine were examined, identifying three key themes: the legitimacy of intermediaries as experts; the legitimacy of a particular mode of wine consumption; the legitimacy of the intermediaries as exemplars for not-yet-legitimate consumers. These findings suggest that cultural intermediaries’ personal, consuming preferences and practices are significant to the formation of a new market, and that they must negotiate potential tensions between interactions with legitimate, not-yet-legitimate and illegitimate consumers.

Limitations with regard to generalizability are discussed with regard to potential future research.

The focus on cultural intermediaries and dimensions of legitimation can be used to examine the case of other emerging markets to anticipate the pathways to institutionalizing new forms of taste and consumption practices.

The paper offers an empirical insight into the market dynamics of distinction in the Shanghai wine market and conceptual insight into the importance of cultural intermediaries as exemplar consumers.

Tourism and hospitality scholars have examined tourists' food experiences in the tourism context. However, little research has been focused on the experience of tasting slow food/wine and the market that consumes slow food/wine. This study aims to (1) understand the factors contributing to tourists' slow food experiences and (2) identify the market segmentation of tourists who experiences slow food and wine at a winery. Four hundred fifty-three online survey questionnaires were collected from Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) platform. The critical research variable is slow food experience, which contains 16 items explained by four dimensions: (1) food, (2) place, (3) behavior, and (4) knowledge. Subsequently, a cluster analysis based on slow food experience measurement was adopted to discover the tourist market. The study identifies three markets: (1) hardcore slow food gastronomes, (2) common slow foodies, and (3) casual visitors. In the conclusion section, this study offers theoretical contributions to the slow food literature and managerial implications for tourism marketers to establish new marketing strategies.

Purpose: This paper adopts a practice-oriented approach to address gaps in existing knowledge of the significance of cultural producers’ and intermediaries’ practices of taste for the construction and organization of markets. Using the example of the cultural field of “natural” wine, I propose how taste operates as a logic of practice, generating market actions in relation to the aesthetic regime of provenance.

Methodology/approach: The paper sets out the conceptual relationship between aesthetic regimes and practices of taste. The discussion draws from interpretive research on natural wine producers and cultural intermediaries involving 40 interviews with natural wine makers, retailers, sommeliers, and writers based in New York, Western Australia, the Champagne region, and the Cape Winelands.

Findings: Three dimensions of how taste is translated into action are examined: as a device of division, which establishes a fuzzy logic of resemblance; as a device of operation, which provides an intuitive platform for shaping the means of production; and as a device of coordination, which enables an embedded experience of trust.

Originality/value: The paper’s discussion of dispositions, affect, intuition, and pattern identification provide new insights into the translation of taste into action, and the macro-organization of markets. I argue for attention to how cultural producers and cultural intermediaries are mobilized through their habitual sense of taste, shifting the focus away from consumers to those whose market actions are largely self- and peer-referential. This is important for understanding processes of market development and value construction.

Wine tourism literature still falls behind other streams of research in its ability to assess phenomena associated with the implementation of digital practices to address strategic challenges. Moreover, studies on social media in tourism and hospitality prioritize the relationship between tourists’ behavioural aspects and technology. Relationships, experiences and timely responses on the digital environment are particularly important, taken the ‘new normal’ which COVID-19 necessitates. Within this framework, the present case study explores the role of social media (Facebook in specific) in the effort of Cretan wineries to respond to new encounters, as well as the importance, if any, of collaborative practices for developing online strategies of individual businesses. Findings help us identify (a) the role of the winescape studies in exploring the digital environment and (b) the main communication priorities of wineries as expressed through social media during the pandemic crisis.

The case of Wines Manufacturer from an Emerging Economy (WMEE) aims to provide a starting point for reflections and discussions about the influence of home country formal institutions on the internationalization process of an industry in an emerging market context.

The plot revolves around the Wines Manufacturer from an Emerging Economy project, which was created to promote the Brazilian wine industry in the international market. A qualitative-descriptive approach was applied to the study, and data collection was conducted through primary and secondary sources.

The context involves the difficulty of positioning Brazilian wines in both the domestic and international markets, especially fine wines. The relationship networks built during internationalization processes (in most cases promoted by formal institutions such as WMEE) help to shape strategies for Brazilian wineries.

Doing business in international markets has made Brazilian wine known worldwide and internationalized wineries can attain new levels of learning, which can be transposed into their domestic operations. If, on the one hand, institutions are important for promoting the industry and its internationalization process, on the other hand, it is equally true that the fragmented institutional structure and their overlapped roles generate many conflicts.

In a fragmented tourism market and highly competitive industry, tourism providers aim to increase their appeal and attractiveness. Identifying opportunities and resources, which contribute to provide consumers with higher quality experiences and create added value, is challenging for entrepreneurs. This chapter aims to increase the awareness of entrepreneurs about flexible methods and tools, which are transforming the way work is performed and thus affecting management practices in the tourism industry.

Literature review was conducted on conceptual issues related to consumer experience and three case studies were analysed as best practices in the wine tourism industry

To deliver a specific consumer experience and create added value for customers, several opportunities are identified, related to authenticity and accommodation offering. Necessary resources to exploit those opportunities encompass existing (connected to the main product wine, historical buildings, family story and product characteristics) as well as newly acquired valuable resources related to the development of peripheral tourism activities.

This study is explorative in nature, based on a literature review. It takes more entrepreneurial than academic approach.

The balance between authenticity and attractiveness is a key factor of success for wineries as means to provide added value to customers.

This contribution helps to identify valuable and existing resources in order to exploit opportunities and deliver high-quality experiences to tourists. The uniqueness of this experience is crucial on building added value for customers.

This paper tests the potential for the food and wine tourism model developed by Hall and Sharples to be used as a tool for identifying specific food and wine segments in a destination. Using Cairns, Australia, as a case study a survey of tourists identified three food and wine segments and confirmed the ability of the model to be used to classify the destination's position as a food and wine destination based on the categories developed by Hall and Sharples. Results of the survey indicate that while almost all participants experienced the destination's food and wine products, only one group of respondents (45%) self-identified as food and wine tourists. A second group participated in food and wine experiences but did not select specific destinations on the basis of the destination's food and wine sector. A third group expressed no interest in food and wine as a tourist experience but did consume unique food and wine as part of the overall tourist experience. The research found that the food and wine tourism model developed by Hall and Sharples was a useful tool for both identifying the stage of development of the food and wine industry and planning strategies to develop the sector. The paper concludes by outlining a number of implications for marketing food and wine tourism.

Purpose: This paper uses performance theory to explore how wine-tourism experiences are orchestrated by wine tour guides to encourage engagement of consumers. It describes how such orchestration is built on material elements such as landscapes, architecture, vineyards, production facilities, and wine tastings.

Design/methodology/approach: A multi-layer ethnographic research on wine-tourism was employed. The interviews, observations, and field notes were analyzed through the lens of performance theory. A constant comparative method was used to identify emergent patterns, and a hermeneutic method was used to interpret the data.

Findings: The paper builds on performance theory and delineates the ways in which guides co-create intense experiences with participants. It portrays how tour guides often adjust their theatrical scripts to consumers’ unique needs through creative variations: surprise treats, activities, and personal stories. When guides take pleasure in tours, participants do as well, resulting in memorable co-created experiences. The tours feature processes such as pitching and relation-building techniques that call upon identity, morality, and materiality scripts, which ultimately build a sense of social obligation among participants toward tour guides and winery staff.

Originality/value: From a theoretical perspective, the paper adds value to the discussion of performance in tourism by suggesting that the service blueprint, architecture, and employee training are only part of the story. This paper shows how consumer engagement and interactions between participants, guides, architecture, and landscapes are essential elements of memorable experiences.

Research limitations: Like other studies, there are limitations to our study as well. Our study only included one-day wine tours. A broader investigation of strategic alliances between tour companies and wineries, and how wine tourists experience and sustain a sense of social obligations to the wineries they visit, will provide further insights into how wine-tourism functions as a co-creative emergent form of consumption involving individuals, products, and processes.