GIs and the concept of terroir for the development of local wine and sake clusters in Japan

Abstract

Geographical indications (GIs) have been increasingly used as a marketing tool to promote collective brand strategy regarding local agriculture and food clusters around the world. GIs can work, when combined with their power of terroir-based brand storytelling, as a common local asset on which local producers can strengthen collective regional brand values of their products and promote the discourse on the attractiveness of terroir of their regions. This function of GIs has increasingly gained attention as a tool for boosting the wine and sake industries in Japan. This paper analyzes the importance and potentiality of utilizing GIs as a marketing tool for terroir-based brand storytelling to revitalize local wine and sake clusters in Japan.