WHAT INFLUENCES CROATIAN CONSUMERS’ WINE CHOICE?

Abstract

Purpose – This research explores the habits of Croatian wine consumers and the importance of selected wine choice attributes, including price, Country of Origin (COO), grape variety, sugar content, color, brand, Pro-tected Designation of Origin (PDO), traditional terms of kvalitetno vino KZP and vrhunsko vino KZP (TT), vintage, and bottle/label design, with respect to age, gender, and subjective knowledge. Methodology – The study is based on 428 question-naires collected in a survey conducted among consumers during the winter/spring of 2019. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and quantitative methods (Friedmann ANOVA, Mann-Whitney’s U-test, and Kruskal-Wallis test). Findings and Implications – Most respondents per-ceive wine as a pleasure. However, consumers with more subjective knowledge predominantly experience wine as a product with potential health benefits. The frequency of consumption generally increases with age. In general, grape variety and TT are the most important attributes in wine choice, TT being the most important attribute among women and consumers with more subjective knowledge. The importance of COO, grape variety, and vintage attributes increases with the age, while the importance of price and bottle/label design decreases. Consumers are confused by the common European PDO label although it does not differ from the national system of Geographical indications that pre-ceded it. The results can be useful in creating targeted marketing strategies to improve competitiveness of the wine industry, as well as to indicate the need for edu-cating individual consumers and prospective consumer groups about PDO and potential benefits of moderate wine consumption. Limitations – The data sample represents consumers from Croatia. However, most of them come from Za-greb, which may limit the result relevance given the so-cio-economic differences between the capital and other regions. Originality – This is the first research to explore the attributes of wine important to Croatian consumers and link these with age, gender, and subjective knowledge since Croatia joined the EU and adopted the new wine labeling rules.