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Original Research Article

Evaluating wines? An Exploratory Study of Value Chain Configurations Across Expert and Consumer Rating Systems: Special Issue "Transforming wine value chains – Adapting to a changing world"

(Just Accepted)
  • Jan Erik Meidell,
  • Antoine Pinède,
  • Riccardo Saracino
Jan Erik Meidell
HEG-Geneva
Antoine Pinède
HEG-Geneva
Riccardo Saracino
HEG-Geneva
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/wep-19999

Published 2026-09-25

Keywords

  • wine ratings,
  • value chain transformation,
  • expert and consumer ratings,
  • information asymmetry,
  • strategic adaptation,
  • digital platforms
    • ...More
    Less

How to Cite

Meidell, J. E., Pinède, A., & Saracino, R. (2026). Evaluating wines? An Exploratory Study of Value Chain Configurations Across Expert and Consumer Rating Systems: Special Issue "Transforming wine value chains – Adapting to a changing world". Wine Economics and Policy. https://doi.org/10.36253/wep-19999

Copyright (c) 2024 Jan Erik Meidell, Antoine Pinède, Riccardo Saracino

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Adopting an exploratory approach, this paper examines how wineries’ strategic positioning and value chain configurations are associated with wine evaluations under two distinct judgment regimes: expert and consumer ratings. The analysis is based on a dataset of 1,078 observations, obtained by merging data from Wine Spectator, Vivino, and original firm-level survey data. To jointly estimate expert and consumer evaluations, we employ a Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR) model, allowing for correlated error structures across the two rating equations. Three main findings emerge. First, business strategies are associated with both expert and consumer evaluations. Second, quality-oriented value chain configurations are positively associated with both expert and consumer evaluations. Third, the two rating equations display descriptively distinct stage-specific patterns along the value chain, although cross-equation tests do not identify statistically significant differences between the corresponding coefficients. These results contribute to the literature by integrating external evaluations with firm-level value chain configurations. This paper provides practical implications for winemakers and policymakers, particularly in the context of territorial branding and regional promotion strategies.

(Just Accepted)

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