Importance of wine awards for producers and consumers

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to understand better the importance given to wine awards both by producers and consumers. From the producers’ side, the lists of the Top 100 wines from the Wine Spectator and the Wine Enthusiast were gathered and a scale was designed to evaluate the importance each producer on the list gave to the award on the respective website. Furthermore, the study presents some descriptive statistics regarding the average importance depending on the country of origin, grape variety, price, classification on the list and repeated presence on it or not. The study concludes that producers in some countries give more importance to these awards than in other. Similar differences were detected among producers of different grape varieties. In addition to this, the cheaper the wine, and the better the classification, the more likely it is that its producer will give importance to the award. As for the repeated presence, further studies are required. Moreover, from the consumers’ side, an online survey was conducted amongst potential consumers in Portugal, to understand their willingness to try new wines. The study aims at identifying what are the most important aspects when choosing wine and what role awards play in the decision, based on knowledge and image. From the results observed, people choose the medal or award that has a bigger visual impact. Lastly, the survey also let us understand that Portuguese consumers do not perceive local awards to be less relevant than the international ones.

Date of Award	21 Jul 2016
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Ricardo Reis (Supervisor)