 IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Is the consumer ready for innovative fruit wines?

Is the consumer ready for innovative fruit wines?

Abstract

AIM: Wine consumption in the last fifteen years showed a decrease in Europe [1]. New alternatives of wines appeared on the market. Those beverages are obtained by blending wines and fruit juices or flavoring wines with artificial or natural aromas and have medium alcohol content (from 8 to 10.5%) [2]. Recently, an innovative fruit wine has been proposed obtained by co-fermenting grape must and kiwi juice [3] whose potential attractiveness to consumers should be exploited. However, differences in product acceptability and perception, as well as the individuals’ willingness to consume and pay could change in function of subjects socio-demographic characteristics. The target group selected is represented by young adults (18-35 years old) consumption groups.

METHODS: The data were collected through an online survey created with Google Forms and disseminated by e-mail and social networks. . The results were processed to highlight differences between two age groups (millennial and Z generation) and gender in terms of alcoholic beverages consumption habits, consumer’s experience about fruit wines, the perception and expectations about this new products and the willingness to pay. Non-parametric tests were performed to test the statistical differences between the two age groups.

RESULTS: The questionnaire was submitted to participants belonging to the Z generation (62% of the respondents), and Millennials (38% ). Even though the product is still little known in Italy, 86% of positive responses were obtained by the question “Would you be willing to consume a fruit wine?”; in particular, negative answers were strongly due to respondents neophobia. Answers about consumption habits revealed that wine and beer are young people’s favorite drinks and the choice of participants already involved in wine sector could be influenced by their personal experience. Differences in terms of consumption habits emerged in terms of individuals’ age and gender. However, the two age groups were in accordance on different quality aspects of fruit wines, with the exception of alcohol degree and Brand knowledge. Also the willingness to pay for the new product changes in relation to individuals age.

CONCLUSIONS:

The survey carried out on the consumer perception toward a novel fruit wine demonstrated that the marketplace could be attracted and potentially ready to this innovation. Moreover, the sustainability aspects that distinguish this product along with the social impact of a low-alcohol drink, however obtained from a grape must, may represent a further economic fly-wheel in the alcoholic beverage market. The differences in consumer perception, considering gender and age, could represent a marketing tool to consider in the product communication strategies

DOI:

Publication date: September 24, 2021

Issue: Macrowine 2021

Type: Article

Authors

Stefano Massaglia, Valentina Maria Merlino, Daniela FRACASSETTI, Simona PIZZI, Alessandra DI CANITO, Ileana VIGENTINI,

Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (DISAFA),University of Turin, Italy, Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences (DeFENS), University of Milan, Italy

Contact the author

Keywords

innovation, fruit wines, consumer acceptance, low alcohol beverages, willingness to pay

Citation

Effect of grape harvest time on the metabolomic profile of ribolla gialla monovarietal sparkling wines

The timing of grape harvest is crucial factor to be considered in the winemaking process, as delayed harvest increases the content of varietal aromas, esters, aldehydes

Use of minority grape varieties to mitigate climate change and achievement of balanced wines in Castilla y León (Spain)

Castilla y León is the third longest region in the European Union, having more than 85.000 vineyard hectares.

The influence of soil management practices on functional traits and biodiversity of weed communities in Swiss vineyards

Green cover in vine rows provides many ecological services, but can also negatively impact the crop, depending on the weed species. The composition of a vineyard weed community is influenced by many parameters. Ensuring an evolution of the vine row flora into a desired direction is therefore very complex. A key step towards this goal is to know which factors influence the establishment of the weed community and which types of communities are best suited for vineyards. In this study, we analysed the weed communities of several vineyards in the Lake Geneva region (379 botanical surveys on 117 plots), with the aim to highlight the links between soil management practices (chemical and mechanical weeding, mowing, mulching roll) and phytosociological profiles, biodiversity and selected functional traits (growth forms, life strategies, root depth). T

A spatial explicit inventory of EU wine protected designation of origin to support decision making in a changing climate

Winemaking areas recognized as protected designations of origin (PDOs) shape important economic, environmental and cultural values that are tied to closely defined geographic locations. To preserve wine products and wine-growing practices adopted in different PDOs these areas are strictly regulated by legal specifications. However, quality viticulture is increasingly under pressure from climate change, which is altering the local conditions of many winegrowing areas. Therefore, maintaining traditional wine products will require the adoption of tailored adaptation strategies, including possible changes in the legal regulation of protected wines. To this end, it is necessary to have a comprehensive knowledge on PDOs including their extension, products and allowed practices. While there have been efforts to build databases that summarize the characteristics for individual wine PDO areas and to quantify the related effects of climate change, much information is still included only in the official documentation of the EU geographical indication register and has never been collected in a comprehensive manner. With this study we aim at filling this gap by building a spatial inventory of European wine PDOs that supports decision making in viticulture in the context of climate change. To map and characterize European wine PDOs, we analysed their legal documents and extracted relevant information useful for climate change adaptation. The output consists of a comprehensive geographical dataset that identifies the boundaries of all 1200 European wine PDOs at unprecedented spatial resolution and includes a set of legally binding regulations, such as authorized vine varieties, maximum yields and planting density. The inventory will allow researchers to analyse the impacts of climate change on European wine PDOs and support decision makers in developing tailored adaptation strategies. This includes, among others, the evaluation of new vineyard site selection, the expansion of cultivated varieties or the authorization of irrigation in vineyards.

Relationships between vineyard soil physiochemical properties and under-vine soil cover as potential drivers of terroir in the Barossa

Aims: Soils are an intrinsic feature of the landscape and have influenced culturally and economically important terroir delineation in many wine-producing regions of the world. Soil physiochemical properties govern a wide array of ecosystem services, and can therefore affect grapevine health and fruit development. These physiochemical properties can reflect a combination of factors,