Emotions among winery tourists: new vs old wine world

Purpose This study aims to compare the influence of emotions produced by the wine and the winery visit on wine purchase intent at two destinations with different cultural views (old and new wine worlds). Design/methodology/approach A quantitative approach was adopted using a total sample of 600 tourists from two different wineries, one in La Rioja (Spain, Europe) and the other in Baja California (Mexico, North America). All the tourists surveyed at the European winery were European, and all the tourists surveyed at the North American winery were North American. Findings The results expand on previous research. At the tested wineries, the emotions produced by the wine (product) had a greater influence than those produced by the winery (environment); however, the intensity of their respective influences varied depending on whether the winery was in the new or old wine world. Research limitations/implications While the wine description was controlled by showing the same offer at both destinations, the winery visit experience was neither controlled nor controllable because the tours were real. Additionally, although the research variables were very similar in this study, the effect of differences in income between the tourists from the different regions was not considered. Practical implications Winery managers wishing to positively influence wine purchases at their establishments should focus their efforts on generating high positive emotions through the wine offer. They should also keep in mind the possible need for different approaches because of cultural differences between the tourists (North American or European) visiting the winery. To sell wine and build their brand, they should identify those tourists truly interested in wine. Originality/value Although the literature recognizes the influence of the emotions produced by the product and the environment on wine purchase intent, this is the first study to simultaneously compare the influence of the emotions generated by both the wine on offer (product) and the winery visit (environment) on wine purchase intent in tourists to two different wineries (new vs old wine world).