American Wine Economics

The U.S. wine industry is growing rapidly and wine consumption is an increasingly important part of American culture. American Wine Economics is intended for students of economics, wine professionals, and general readers who seek to gain a unified and systematic understanding of the economic organization of the wine trade.

The wine industry possesses unique characteristics that make it interesting to study from an economic perspective. This volume delivers up-to-date information about complex attributes of wine; grape growing, wine production, and wine distribution activities; wine firms and consumers; grape and wine markets; and wine globalization. Thornton employs economic principles to explain how grape growers, wine producers, distributors, retailers, and consumers interact and influence the wine market. The volume includes a summary of findings and presents insights from the growing body of studies related to wine economics.

Economic concepts, supplemented by numerous examples and anecdotes, are used to gain insight into wine firm behavior and the importance of contractual arrangements in the industry. Thornton also provides a detailed analysis of wine consumer behavior and what studies reveal about the factors that dictate wine-buying decisions.

James Thornton is Professor of Economics at Eastern Michigan University. He publishes in Applied Economics and other journals and is a member of the American Association of Wine Economists and the American Economic Association.

List of Illustrations
List of Tables
Preface
Acknowledgments

Introduction
1. The Economic Approach to the Study of Wine
2. The Wine Product
3. Wine Sensory Characteristics
4. Grape Growing
5. Grape Markets and Supply Cycles
6. Wine Production
7. Bulk Wine, Private-Label Wine, and Wine Alcohol
8. Wine Distribution and Government Regulation
9. The Wine Firm
10. Wine-Firm Behavior
11. The Wine Consumer and Demand
12. The Wine Consumer, Quality, and Price
13. The Globalization of Wine
Conclusion

Notes
References
Index