New England Australia

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to contrast the marketing strategies of the New England Australia wine‐producing region with those of the Languedoc‐Roussillon region in France. While the two regions occupy similar market positions, they nonetheless reveal diametrically opposed marketing strategies. Against the background of this comparative discussion, the paper proposes methods to enhance the development of the New England Australia wine region so that it becomes a more complete example of successful rural restructuring.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses a comparative, political economy approach to explore the marketing strategies of the New England Australia wine‐producing region, and the Languedoc‐Roussillon region in France. In particular, following the work of Garcea‐Parpet, the paper seeks to demonstrate that markets are most usefully viewed as social and political/legal constructs, as well as economic exchanges, and that focussing on the former elements is a fruitful way to proceed, both in terms of analysis and policy prescription for the industry.FindingsComparison with the Languedoc‐Roussillon region in France generates future potential opportunities for New England Australia. A number of issues are discussed with respect to the organisation of the industry and its representation, particularly focusing on leadership and the extent to which leadership was both a catalyst for change and a driver of continued success in the case of Languedoc‐Roussillon.Originality/valueThis paper represents the first exploration of the impact of regional status for the New England Australia wine region and the first comparative analysis of the region with Languedoc‐Roussillon.

The narratives of geographical indications

“…If the narrative predominant in the Valpolicella example is centred around the defence of identity and the fight against the misappropriation of the name Amarone, in New England the main narrative addresses the pride of creating something new. The image of the pioneers mentioned before is meaningful also on a narrative level: it points to the infancy of the wine industry in the area (Grant, Dollery and Hearfield, 2009; Chang, Campbell and Sniekers, 2007), as well as to its eagerness to build a reputation achieving recognition both nationally and internationally. Associated with this image of pioneering persons is the search for the identity of a wine region that, despite some past episodes of wine-making (Wiedemann, 1981, pp.…”

“…In this sense it is a tale narrating the quest for independence; it can be assimilated, to some extent, to a Bildungsroman or coming of age literary archetype. ‘[T]he achievement of regional status for New England-Australia, rather than being seen as the pinnacle of branding, ought in fact be conceived as just the beginning’ (Grant et al , 2009, p. 28).…”

“…First, it metaphorically marks out the willingness of the wine-makers to move to a new phase in their collective life; second, it offers an operational tool which will play an important role in shaping the new identity. It is also a narrative which has as its main characters the wine-makers along with the local government, which provided financial and administrative support during the registration process (Grant et al , 2009, p. 5). This represents another meaningful difference with the Amarone example, where the well-established identity connected to that wine was perceived as important by the community at large, while in the New England case the community's voices seemed to have been toned down.…”