Do Consumers Seek Terroir Elements When Choosing a Wine? Insight from Four Generational Cohorts

Consumers’ wine purchasing decision is complex since wines carry a plethora of attributes associated with them, varying from intrinsic to extrinsic cues. Among the extrinsic cues that wines project to market their brand and by extension its winery and area of origin is the concept of wine terroir and its elements. This research provides the first results of ongoing research that deals with what wine consumers in a retail setting seek for, when choosing a wine. It provides insight from four generational cohorts and explores, if, among these components (N = 44), elements of wine terroir are included. Data were collected online, and a sample of 366 valid responses were gathered. Results revealed that on a seven-point Likert scale, no item had a mean score > 6.00, while six items (out of 44) were sought by cohorts when choosing a wine. These characteristics are “taste,” “smell,” “aroma,” “price,” “clarity and color of wine,” and “authenticity.” Factor analysis of the 44 items extracted three factors, namely “Wine terroir,” “Core wine elements,” and “Wine communication terroir.” Segmentation analysis extracted three distinctive groups of wine consumers, the “Wine terroirists,” the “Sensory-driven consumers,” and the “Apathetic wine consumers.” Upon segments, the findings are discussed and recommendations for wineries are presented.