Consumer awareness and quality perceptions: a case for Sonoma County wines

The general hypothesis of this study is that the core wine consumer in the USA is not influenced by American Viticulture Area (AVA) (appellations) designation in deciding about wine quality above and beyond the geopolitical region designation (such as Sonoma County). Most wine consumers have higher awareness of the larger geopolitical region than the AVA's within that region. The case of Sonoma County, California, is used to investigate this question because legislation was recently enacted to ensure that the “Sonoma County” designation to be printed on all wine produced there. The authors assert that this “conjunctive labeling” will improve competitiveness. A national sample of 409 US wine consumers answer the call for more research on a national level.