The quality of wine between innovation and tradition. A study of a changing ‘Mediterranean drinking culture’

Abstract

Wine consumption is affected by intertwined needs generated by factors such as production and marketing methods, as well as by the individual's desire for social differentiation in a democratised mass drinking culture. Our study sought to determine whether consumption patterns have changed in the Italian province of Trentino and how such changes may have affected the meaning that wine drinkers living in this area assign to the concept of quality in wine. The paper presents a qualitative study (n=57 interviews) carried out in a wine producing region in north-east Italy. In addition to investigating the changes that have taken place in the area's wine drinking culture, the study also focuses on how consumers perceive and define wine quality. The findings show that economic, political and social factors have brought major changes in drinking culture and consumption over the last 50 years. In addition, changes in the wine industry have had a significant impact on how consumers’ views on wine quality and its key features have evolved. Nevertheless, the study found that some traditional aspects persist in the drinking culture and still determine the perception of quality.

Cultural variations in conceptualization of excessive drinking among young adults in Denmark, Estonia and Italy

“…This decline was driven by urbanization and changes in the labour market sustained by social self-regulation based on informal norms typical of wine-drinking cultures rather than on formal policies which were introduced only lately (around the end of the 1990s) and cannot be considered very strict (Allamani et al , 2010). Typical features of the traditional Italian drinking culture, such as using alcohol during meals and negative attitudes towards drunkenness, were subsequently reinforced by trends that cherish the “competent drinker”; a lover of quality wine (or beer) and interested in its taste and right combination with food rather than in psychotropic effects (Beccaria and Rolando, 2016; Beccaria and Pretto, 2021; Poppi and Beccaria, 2022).…”

Valorization of Traditional Alcoholic Beverages: The Study of the Sicilian Amarena Wine during Bottle Aging

“…Due to peculiar nutritional, social, and religious implications, alcoholic beverages have certainly been a distinctive component of the Mediterranean culture [ 1 ] and, despite the spread of certain globalized consumption styles (i.e., so-called “binge-drinking”), the adherence to a healthier, light-to-moderate, alcohol consumption, is still evident throughout the Mediterranean area [ 2 ]. In Italy particularly, fermented drinks have typically underlined convivial and socializing meanings—being enjoyed during mealtimes in family and friend settings [ 3 ]—and have often shaped numerous regional gastronomies as well [ 4 ].…”

Grapevine Propagation Method with Two Temperature Controlling Process

“…There've been several instances of failures of young vines and the initial collapse of a new vineyard since in the 1990s' in global vine growing boom (Aigoun-Mouhous et al, 2021). In the last 30 years, the mondial wine business has considerably transformed (Beccaria and Pretto, 2021). It has evolved from a quite small, locally oriented, family business with a European emphasis to a considerably more international industry controlled by international firms (Pomarici et al, 2021).…”