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The Effect of Weather on Wine Quality and Prices: An Australian Spatial Analysis*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 June 2016

Edward Oczkowski*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Business, Charles Sturt University, Locked Bag 588, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2678, Australia; e-mail: eoczkowski@csu.edu.au.

Abstract

In the context of the important implications of climate change, this paper analyzes the impact of weather on wine quality and prices for Australian premium wines. Motivated by a recognition of consumers’ accessed information sets, the impact of temperature and rainfall on retail wine prices is assessed through their relation with quality ratings from a high-profile wine guide and then on prices. For a broad spectrum of different quality wines from a cross section of wines available in 2014 and a separate analysis of eight wine varieties, the indirect approach to modeling weather effects through wine quality is found to be superior than assuming weather impacts directly on retail prices. The results also demonstrate the importance of regional variations in weather conditions in influencing prices and identify the optimal season growing temperatures for different grape varieties. (JEL Classifications: Q13, Q54)

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © American Association of Wine Economists 2015 

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Footnotes

*

Comments from two anonymous referees are gratefully acknowledged.

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