Marketing

Introduction

Nowadays, France stands out among all others country as the home of fine wine. Wine is a part of the French culture as the cultivation of wines goes back to antiquity. France created a specific certification called the AOC (Appellation of Controlled Origin) for the French territory, similar to PDO (protected designation of origin) for the European Union. Moreover, the taste and quality of wine vary according to different factors, such as soil and subsoil, grapes varieties also known as “cépages,” climate and finally if it is biological or not.

Furthermore, the problem is the differentiation between the wines produced in a different area of France; some regions are established and marketed as better than others for producing wine market. It brings us to the fact that not only the wine from well-known regions of France are excellent, but also at the opposite, wine from the small unknown area can be as good as the others. Therefore, this research aims to investigate how to effectively recognize and market French wines produced outside Bordeaux and Bourgogne, through the following research question: How French wine produced outside Bordeaux and Bourgogne can be effectively marketed and recognized? For all the students embarking on a data analysis dissertation help, getting a great understanding of all these dynamics becomes pivotal in delineating strategies for effective market and brand recognition.

Furthermore, different objectives will be used to broken down the research question. The objectives are as follows: firstly, to explore the background history of wine in France, the different regions of wine producer, what differentiate wine from another, what give an advantage to some areas. Secondly, to inform, by providing a deep analyse of the wine industry and market in France, including labelling. Finally, to identify if any improvements are possible for the wine producers outside the region of Bordeaux and Bourgogne. Hence, the purpose of this research for a wider audience is to help people to be more open-minded about wines in France. Moreover, to increase their curiosity about things they never heard about, in this case, the difference between wines produced in different regions. In fact, it will be very useful for any person that like drinking wine, people will discover new varieties. In addition, at the end of this research, people will be able to choose between a huge wine list in relation to what they know and not by what the market want them to know.

The motivation for doing this research is to understand and find an answer, on how over year winemakers outside the region of Bordeaux and Bourgogne will be able to be as successful as wine producers within these areas. In addition, to share his thinking about exquisite wine that is still unknown today. So finally, his grandfather is working in the wine business, he started making wine forty years ago and maybe one day the writer curiosity will lead him to work within this industry.

Research question

How can French wines outside the Bordeaux and Bourgogne regions be marketed effectively?

Research aim

To explore how French wines outside the Bordeaux and Bourgogne regions can be marketed effectively

Research Objective

1. To explore the background history of wine in France. Producer, what differentiate wine from another, what give an advantage to some areas.
2. To Provide a deep analyse of the wine industry and market in France, including labelling
3. To Identify if any improvements are possible for the wine producers outside the region of Bordeaux and Bourgogne

Literature Review Introduction

This critical literature review has the purpose of analysing and discussing research to gain a detailed understanding of French wine production, history and market. The following research should appropriately assist in the recognition process of French wines outside the regions of Bordeaux and Bourgogne. The first section of this critical literature review focus on the origins and history of wine production over the years, with the aim of selecting different regions in order to analyse and understand the different factors that play a role over wine in France. The second part of this literature review will focus on the regions as an all, in order to analyse and understand the different varieties and methods of production. This will be pursued by an in-depth review of French wine market and recognition, in order to draw suitable comparison between the different wine production areas.

2.1 The Origins and History of French’s wine

2.1.1 The History of the wine

As Robinson, J. and Harding, J. highlights in the Oxford companion to wine, the history of wine is closely linked to the history of human civilization. Research and establish from the Antiquity, it has accompanied the development of trades through the ages and expend steps by steps its production sites to finally come to the point that today is it cultivated in the whole world (Robinson & Harding, 1994).). Previous research demonstrate that the cultivation of wine started around 600 before Christ, when the Greek immigrant discover Marseille. In the second century before Christ, the roman brought the practice of viticulture, which was vital for them at the time. (Histoire - Le vin en France - Vins de France, 2017).) Moreover, according to Garrier (2002) with the rise of Catholicism wine started to have a medieval religious signification and winemaking began to have a strong influence, used to represent the Blood of Christ in Holy Communion. According to FranceAgrimer, the wine spread in the valley of the Rhone in the 1st century, emerge in the 2nd century In Burgundy and Bordeaux, to come up to the Loire valley in the 3rd century, Champagne and the valley of the Moselle in the 4th century (FranceAgrimer - L'histoire de la vigne et du vin, 2017).

Lian (2015) and many academic articles highlights the fact that France have made wine for thousands of years and therefore has been a major player of the Old world. Rod phillips suggest that for decades France occupies a special position in the wine business, until the late twentieth century a robust consensus was established, that France produced the best wines in the world. Nowadays, even with the improvements and innovations of different European countries, “there is a residual sense that France’s best wines are the world best” (Phillips, 2016).

French market overview

The signs of Quality and Origins

According to French National Institute of Origin and Quality, the signs of quality and origins has been historically created to fight against the fraud and insure the quality of the wine. Furthermore, in 1935 the National Committee of Appellations of Origin for Wines and Spirits was created, which in 1947 became INAO, the National Institute of Appellations of Origin, this institution is responsible for their definition, protection and control (Ouvrages sur les signes de qualité ou d'origine, 2017).

Straight after, the Appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) was created, it “refers to a product whose main stages of production are carried out according to recognized know-how in the same geographical area, which gives its characteristics to the product” (Holbrook & Ouvrages sur les signes de qualité ou d'origine, 2017). In 1992, the European Union establish the Appellation d’origine protégée (AOP), which is an equivalent of the Appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) for the European Union. The same year was created L’Indication géographique protégée (IGP), who has for mission, to “Identify an agricultural product, raw or processed, whose quality, reputation or other characteristics are related to its geographical origin” (Holbrook & Batra 2017). For the wine, every operation, such as harvesting of the grapes until the wine making process are carried out in the geographical area concerned. Furthermore, the IGP is directly link with a knowledge, it means it does not be created but simply come from an existing production that consequently offer a national and international protection.

Thus, because the quality of the wine is of primary importance, the Agriculture Biologique (AB) appeared in France in the 1950, and was develop and establish to the wine sector by the European Union in 2012. The Agriculture Biologique consist of the creation of specific rules and methods of the wine productions process, and only the one who respect these specific regulations can earn the mention "organic wine" accompanied by the logo that can appear on the label (Holbrook & Batra, 2017).

2.2.2 French wine consumption

In the Journal of consumer, research (1987) wrote by Holbrook, “Consumption can be conceived as the focal object of interest of the consumer research discipline”. In addition, consumption “does not necessarily involve a purchase, nor even, at times, any deliberate decision to use a product” (Res.org.uk. 2016).). First, to analyse the French wine consumption on the domestic market we should introduce the French wine crisis. During the past decades, we assisted to two types of crisis: firstly the exogenous crises, which take into consideration the two world wars, and the endogenous crisis: such as the crises of phylloxera or mildew. More specifically, according to the Royal Economic Society phylloxera is a microscopic insect that survive the trip from the US and arrive in France in 1863, from 1863 to 1890, and destroyed 40% of the French vineyards (FranceAgrimer, 2015). After this period of uncertainty for the French vineyards, the consumptions of wine went back to normal. Until nearly hundred years later, in 1960 the consumptions growth stopped and in 1965, the consumption started to decline. From a massive 160 litres per adult per year in 1965 to 57 litres in 2010. This decline in the consumption is regular and there is no special situation or crisis that can explain this decrease. FranceAgrimer (2015) conducted the survey of wine consumption in France; furthermore, another significant year is the year 1980, in which regular drinkers were more than half of the consumers with 51%. Since that year, the percentage of regular drinkers started to decline, to reach 16% in 2015. Moreover, the number of French people who do not drink wine at all as double in 2010, twice more than thirty years ago. Nowadays, 37% of the French population consume wine at least weekly. This proportion increased by 5% compared to the year 2010. Furthermore, the friendliness of the meal determines the consumption of wine; unlike 2010, the presence of wine at the table means less systematic consumption in 2015. Moreover, the rise in the consumption of wines and aperitifs between week (17%) and weekend (38%) shows their festive character (INAO & Hachette, 2005).

2.2.3 The production of French wine

France is composed of 17 wine régions namely; Alsace, Armagnac et Cognac, Beaujolais et Lyonnais, Bordeaux, Bourgogne, Champagne, Corse, Jura, Languedoc, Lorraine, Poitou-Charentes, Provence, Roussillon, Savoie et Bugey, Sud-Ouest, Vallée de la Loire and lastly Vallée du Rhone which occupied approximately 750 000 hectares en 2014 (Foxall, Goldsmith & Brown, 2017), operated by somewhat 87,400 winemakers. The varied climatic conditions in France are the major reason why the vineyard are located in such different areas. France is dominating the world wine production with Italy, France ranks third Country exporter of wine in volume, but leader in value. With an average production of 45 million hectolitres between 2010 and 2014, the production of French wine focus more on still wine, which account for 75% of the total volumes, but also in the wine for Cognac who have an important place in the production, at the opposite sparkling wine represent only a very small part. Moreover, the AOP wine cover nearly half of the volumes production, in front of the IGP wine (28%), wine for Cognac (18%) and the French wine SIG (6%), therefore, in term of still wine the red wine cover almost half of the entire production, followed by white and rosé wine.

In term of National Yield average, France is ranked 3rd behind Germany and Italy, with an average of 55 and 60 hl/ha, this indicator varies a lot depending on the regions, in Charente the average yield is around 100 hl/ha due to the production of Cognac and the use of the cépages “Uni Blanc” which has a very high yield, at the opposite the vineyards of Bourgogne or Provence focus more on AOP wines and therefore have a lower yield but a higher valorization. (FranceAgrimer, 2015) According to INAO & Hachette (2005) the French wine market had total revenue of 23,501.5 million euros ( in 2014, which account for 18% of the European wine market value. A few companies are the leading player in the French wine market; Castel Frères, Johannes Bobe and Grand Chaise de France with an average of 700 million euros of turnover for each of them. Therefore, in France 2/3 of the company weight less than 10 million euros and represent only 17% of the turnover of the sector. In France, most of the regions are used to produce wine, expect in the North and Northwest. The most renowned regions of the wine production are namely; Bordeaux and Bourgogne. In fact, since 1999 the vineyard of St Emilion is part of the Unesco World Heritage, which is based in Bordeaux. Moreover, in 2015 the Champagne Hillsides, Houses and cellars and the climats, terroirs of Burgundy also became part of the Unesco World Heritage (Holbrook & Batra, 2017).

Bordeaux

The Bordeaux region is situated in the Southwest of France, and therefore, enjoys a temperate oceanic climate. Slowly but surely the vineyard of Bordeaux has earned the title of the first AOC vineyard of France due to the huge diversity of its high quality terroir. Moreover, the Bordeaux vineyard is one of the biggest vineyard in France with 117,500 hectares of vines divided into six different appellations namely; Medoc, Blaye et Bourg, Libournais, Entre-Deux-Mers, Graves et Sauternais and lastly, Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieure. The production of red wine occupied the majority of the plantation, with three major grape varieties; Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc and three minor; Carménère, Malbec and Petit Verdot. When it comes to white wine, three major grape varieties are used; Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle and three minor; Colombard, Merlot Blanc, Sauvignon Gris and Ugni Blanc (Foxall, Goldsmith & Brown, 2017).

Burgundy

The Burgundy vinyard is located between Auxerre and the region of Macon, it cover four departments: the Yonne, the Côte d'Or, the Saône-et-Loire and the Rhône, and is divided into 5 sub-regions, which are, from north to south: Chablis and Yonne, Côte-de-Nuits, Côte-de-Beaune, Côte Chalonnaise and Mâconnais. The Burgundy vinyard is establish over only 28 841 hectares of wine for one hundred Appellations d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC). Well known for its famous red wine like the domain of Romance-Conti, which has been for years one of the most expensive wines in the world but also for the inscription of the climates of the Burgundy vineyard on Enesco’s patrimony on the 4th of July 2015. With more than 80% of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the Burgundy vineyard is also a favorite with Gamay and Aligoté. The climatology of the Burgundy vineyard is at the crossroads of continental, Mediterranean and oceanic influences, it gives its wines an inimitable identity.

2.3 Today’s wine marketing

Marketing can be defined as “the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitability” (Thomas, Painbeni& Barton, 2013). According to the Steve Charters et al (2008), the French wine industry can be described as “an industry with high competition, high barriers to entry, sophisticated consumers and overproduction”. Therefore, in a mature industry where regions have a strong impact on customer purchase intent it is logically harder for a small firm from a little know region to be successful. However, improvements are still possible as marketing being cited as the second most important factor for success, after production expertise amongst wine industry managers (Insee.fr, 2014). In effect, previous research’s demonstrates that the effective use of marketing within a wine related business has a positive impact; with the use and innovation of different process; such as Communication, Packaging, Branding, Price and Distribution Channel.

2.3.1 Communication

Charters, & Pettigrew, (2006). Notes that communication is very vital for the success of the wine industry. The above is based on the idea that the connection between the wines and the terms used to explain them is a complex one. Despite this complexity, the connection has not received attention in the wine market. It is demonstrated that impressively, and wrong use of langue can lead to problems associated with wine valuation. Telfer, (2001) argues that there is a tendency of wine writers and critiques using a flowery language on wines. These leaves others overblown. However, this is comprehensible for those who has tasted the wine thus a probability of being verified. There also tendency to be a premise in the wine industry that selects your language then proceed to market. However, it has been revealed that at times term sued to describe wines are frequently misinterpreted.

2. 3.2 Packaging

Rocchi & Stefani (2006) notes that there is a new trend in the methods used in wine packaging. For a long time, wines have been packed in a glass container that has a natural lid. However, this has changed over time. There is a use of plastic bags. Even the connoisseurs do not regard pet bottles with plastic corks as a poor quality duty to environmental demands. The forecast on natural lid has led to the rise in the sale of plastic bottles. In countries such as Australia, wine bags in carton boxes account for 50 % of the sales. Additionally, there is the use of oak bootless. The above implies bottled wines made of wood. The above has been the case in Italy, which export oak wine bottle to over 50 countries around the world. Barber & Almanza (2007) that there is the use of bottle wraps which is a wrap around each bottle. There is an additional canvass that a complete wrap can be used in achieving differentiation. Moreover, there is the use of etched glasses. These are extremely expensive. However, they make the wine to look unique and have a tactile experience like no other. Barber (2010) contends that there is the use of shrink-wrap sleeves. These are electronically printed heat shrink sleeves, which covers an entire bottle. They provide the potential for creating a very diverse image than a plain glass bottle. Moreover, there is the use of can, especially for sparkling wines. Additionally, some bottle wines are separated into four stemless wine glasses.

2.3.3 Oenotourism

This is tourism related to wines and viticulture. Getz (2000) notes that the wine producing countries shave developed tourism along the vineyards and wineries. Oenotourism is a recent phenomenon, and its history differs significantly from one region to another. In the mid of the new millennium, this form of tourism has grown in many countries with countries in Europe celebrating the Oenotourism day that begins in 2013. This day is celebrated annually on the second Sunday of November. The USA there over 27 million people who participate in culinary or wine-related activities. Italy records approximately five million who generate over 2.3 million euros. Some of the wine activities including, learning the history of wines, witnessing wine production and testing wines.

2.3.4 Biological

Organic wine is made from grapes that are farmed about the rules of organic farming (Carrascosa, Muñoz & González, 2011)). The above is a form of farming that does not use any artificial fertilisers or pest control completely. However, the difference in diversity is the manner in which organic wines is defined related to the non-use of preservatives in the production process.

2. 3.5 Distribution

Wines distribution refers to the movement of wines from one place of production to the final consumer. There are several challenges that are faced during this distribution process (29). He notes that there is a slot of the assumption that buying is easy (Pomarici, Boccia, & Catapano, 2012). However, it is significant to note that buying is important as selling.

3.0 Research and process

This section provides the research methodology, data sources and the research engines that the study used. Moreover, the section contains the inclusion and exclusion criteria in data collection as well as the limitation and delimitation of the study.

3.1 research design

The study is a qualitative study, and therefore descriptive research design was used in the discussion of the study findings. A wide range of data about wine production and marketing is available. The literature search in this study only accessed evidence-based literature to provide clear, vivid, adequate and in-depth information and comprehension of French wine marketing outside Bordeaux and Bourgogne regions.

3.2 Research strategy

To carry out research on how French wine outside the Bordeaux and Bourgogne regions can be marketed effectively involves a compilation of important records of countries survey and records from the world organisation of wine production from different sources. The reports and catalogues that have been compiled by different organisations and bodies will be sued. Such include bodies like the wine market council, the wine institute and wine and grape growers association of America. These sources are chosen since they deal with aspects to do with wine production and marketing.

3.3 Data Analysis

Data compiled from different sources will be analysed to answer the several questions that may arise from wine marketing outside Bordeaux and Bourgogne region. The minimum data based element from the world organisation of wine production will be used to carry out a literature week. The database contains the demographic details, marketing, production trends and the procedural items that are very significant to this research. Reports from this data were read, and the analysed thematically in line with the objectives of this study. The literature strategy was also applied to the national studies that had comparisons across surveys done on issues of the marketing system and data sources about wine marketing and production. Making use of peer reviewed data in this research was a very significant thing to do. The above is based on the idea that such a move amplifies the accuracy of the data and the information gathers. The use of a minimum database would offer descriptive data about wine production and marketing and others related to the issue. Keywords in this study include French wine, marketing, French, Bordeaux and Bourgogne. The search engines will comprise of Academic search complete, world wine production organisation and google scholar. The inclusion criteria in literature search are data of French wine. The above criteria would be able to provide clear information about wine marketing in these regions. Marketing system target consumers and privacy are also part of the inclusion criteria. The above is because such factors make up the market forces. The exclusion criteria involve any French wine sold within Bordeaux and Bourgogne regions. Moreover, the exclusion criteria include the wine production because the study focused on wine marketing only.

3.5 Research ethics

As a marketing officer practitioner, care would be taken in the selection of research articles to be used. Research articles, which do not address, ethical issues will not be selected. All literature selected will be fully and effectively acknowledged using the Harvard referring style. The above will aid in avoiding plagiarism. The ethical principles of research advocated by Barnes (2013) were employed. These principles include autonomy, respect, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice. In addition, the researcher made sure that no data was falsified and that honesty was employed during the research coupled with sound reasoning and judgment. All data collected from the catalogues and any other sources were used in an appropriate manner. These data was never used and will not be used for any other purpose other than this research. Moreover, data collected will be kept off from unauthorised access accidental loss and destruction. Data, which is in the form of hard copies, will be locked safely in cabinets. Data, which is in the form of soft copies, will be kept as encrypted files in computers. In addition, the study will ensure that data is re-identified before being released and that the study consent is reasonably presumed. Moreover, the outcome of the analysis will not allow re-identifying of participants and that data use will note lead to any damage, loss or distress. The study will, also, ensure that the terms and conditions of data portion Act of 1998 are followed as far as consent is concerned.

3.6 Study limitations

The study had some limitations. One of the major limitations of the study was the massive literature as far as wine marketing is concerned. The above made it tedious and time-consuming to isolate the marketing of fresh wine from these piles. Moreover accessing to other data from some bodies such as the world wine production organisation was somehow difficult. However, these limitations were managed through narrowing the search criteria to front win marketing outside Bordeaux and bologna regions only. Another limitation that the study had was sorting conflicting gout data from differing sources concerning the marketing of the French wines. The researcher managed this limitation by carrying gout triangulation on the information collected by the method allows for compulsion of information from different sources. Additionally, it allows the researcher some room to explain the reasons for similarity and diversity in the information provided by different sources. The study is delimited to the French wines marketing outside Bordeaux and Bourgogne regions. It also limited to the wine industry in France and more specifically on wine labelling practices. Also, it is limited to the history of wine in France and the major wine brands from the country coupled with the producers and their distinction criteria. These above also includes the factors that make other regions of wine production in France be in a more competitive and advantageous position as compared to others. Finally, the study is limited to the ways and possibilities of improvement in the marketing of French wine outside the Bourgogne and Bordeaux regions. Here the major focus is on the marketing forces and systems that can be improved to ensure that there us effective marketing of the French wines outside these two regions.

4.0 Presentation and findings

This section contains the findings and the presentations of the study. The discussion is done thematically according to the study objectives that were presented in the introduction part of this work.

4.1 Background history of wine in France.

Wine consumption has long been and continues to be the tool of cultural and economic interaction. Historically, Finkelstein and Quizon, (2007) notes that wine has been in a diverse manner associated with religious spiritual and nutritional qualities. The wine has been for a long time regarded as a special beverage for prestige and seduction. Accordingly, wine can be looked at as a myriad tool that has been overlaid with myriad symbolic meaning (Pike & Melewar, 2006). Wine is not a mere drink or a source of sustained, but also a form of celebration, relaxation, seduction, indulgence and at times addiction. France stands out among the world nations as a home to exquisite cuisine and fine wine. Its capital city, Paris, at times called the city of lights receives visitors from both local and far for tourist purposes (Moulton & Lapsley, 2001). However, for the lovers of wine, the rally magic of France is to be found in the countryside. The production of wine in France can be traced back to the time when the Romans brought viticulture to France. The above refers to the art of grape cultivation. The rise and spread of Catholic religion, the value and importance of wine grow (Velikova, Wilcox & Dodd, 2011). Medieval religious rules had a strong influence on wine production. As much as the Catholic Church frowned on over indulgence, the Church was also responsible for perfecting wine such as champagne, which was broadly associated with the popular French monk called Pergm. In the 19th century, much of the wine industry in France was decimated. The above was due to the vine louse called phylloxera. However, it was realised that the American rootstalk was resistant to the pest. Accordingly, vineyards in Burgundy and Champagne were grafted and recovered rapidly. The diagram below is an illustration of how vine grafting was done.

It is significant to note that in 1855 Emperor Napoleon III ordered a classification methodology to be set in identifying the best wines (Kavaratzis & Ashworth, 2005). The first through the fifth growth or the Crus approach was a subjective method that was adopted. However, the method remains up to date with minor changes. The apex of this system, OAC is founded on the idea that food and wine products from a given region ought to receive protection to ensure quality and avoid fraud. This system was adopted in France in the 1930s. Today, top French wines command the highest price in the market from collectors with deep wallets. However, it no longer holds the same degree of power in the market as it was before. The above is due to high and amplified worldwide competition and the declining level of wine usage within its borders (Lippi, Franchini, Favaloro, & Targher, 2010).

Major areas of wine production in France

Top wine regions in France include Alsace, Burgundy, Champagne, Loraine, and honey Valley among others. Regarding what is grown in each region; French has very strike rules on the grape varieties that go into any wine under the OAC system. With this regard, some regions are more defined by a single varietal while in others, a wide range of grapes is grown and blends are common. Some of the wines produced in French include red, rose, white (dry, semi-dry and sweet) sparkling and fortified. In most of these types, production ranges from cheap forms to the global most expensive and famous samples (Hall & Mitchell, 2007). However, it is significant to note that the fortifies wines tends to be relatively unpopular outside France.

Differentiating between wine

In many cases, the distinction between French wines is region based. The above is because French wines are more of a regional identity than national identity. The above is evident in different grapes varieties production strategies and diverse classification system in different regions. Moreover, the quality level and the prices of wines differ greatly. Some wines are made to be drunk immediately while others are made to last for long. Climate conditions and terroir are the important aspects of wine protection that give an advantage to some regions as compared to others. Climate is the most important environmental aspect that is needed in the ripening of fruits to its optimum quality produce as desired by wine styles (Lockshin & Hall, 2003)). Accordingly, regions with a favourable climate such as champagne have a more advantage as compared to the others. On the other hand, terroir attempts to include all the innumerable environment and cultural influences in growing grapes and making wine. The Burgundians, for instance, have always used the concept to market their wines, enhance tourism, affirm regional traditions and get a comparable advantage over other regions (Stanziani, 2004)). A wine region is normally a collection of terroir, and some are better than others are. Briefly, it can be summed up that French is the leading wine producer in the world. The tradition of wine production can be traced back to the Roman introduction of viticulture in the nation and that the Catholic region played a key role in amplifying wine production in the nation. Moreover, it was established that there are several regions of wine production in French and the type pf wine produced differs from the other depending on the region of production. In the vote of this concept lies the varietals that are used in the production of wine which the French government has a strict on each. Climatic condition and terroir are the key actors that give some regions of wine production a comparative advantage over other regions. In this way, the Burgundy region is seen to be more favoured than other regions.

4.2 The wine industry and market in France, including labelling

Having has discussed the history of wine production we now focus on the wine industry and market in France including labelling. As demonstrated from the preceding section, there are several types of wines that are produced in France. Moreover, the findings revealed that new nations are emerging as wine procedures in the globe. With this in mind, it will be significant note only to discuss the wine industry in France but also the labelling of the wines and their significance.

Labelling

Labelling refers to the complicated phenomenon that is regarded as part of packaging as well as marketing tool. Labelling plays several functions, which include describing the product, promoting the product, and positioning the product in the consumers’ minds (Mueller, Lockshin, Saltman, & Blanford, 2010). These functions are linked to labelling as an as part of branding. Normally branding is geared towards distinguishing one product from another. Accordingly, if labelling is aimed at identifying a product, then it serves the purpose of branding. The findings revealed that the amount of information included in French wines labels differ depending on the area where the wine is produced and the level of classification that the wine contains. Labels contain the classification, the name of the manufacturer and where the wine was made. The above is very significant in as far as, marketing of wines is concerned. Such labels provide the wine with an identity enhancing product differentiation among the several wines producers in the country. For Vin de table level, the label contains the geographical areas where the wine was produced. At times, the geographical area simply implies the wider region where the wine is made. Nevertheless, labels of high-quality wines include details of the individual village or commune and even the particular vineyard where the wine was sourced. It is significant to note that French wine labelling came because of the need for marketing. Apart from the wines in Alsace region France had no habit of labelling wines with details from the grape varietals used. However, because new world wines contained names of the individual grape varietals to the international consumer, France wineries began varietal labelling in the mid-19th century (Steiner, 2002,). However, varietal labelling is common with vide pays type although some OAC wines also display variety names. For most OAC wines, they are normally in small print and on a back label. Labels also indicate the place where the wine was bottled. The above plays a very significant role in indicating the quality level of the wine and an indication of whether the wine was bottled by a single producer or a more unanimously and large quantities.

Consumer perception

It is significant to note that labelling is associated with consumer perception. It explains how consumers associate different labels with different labels with different consumption occasions. As such for effective marketing, marketers ought to take advantage of the broad range of wines consumption occasions and market certain wines to be consumed on certain occasions (Celhay & Passebois, 2011).). For instance, the Bausalais Noveao brand which conveys a festive mood through the label and the exclusive date when it reaches the market. Moreover, wine labelling it is about consumer perception of simple, easily recognisable things such as animals, balls and bike among other depicted on the wine label. Many consumers do not see the association between animals and wine (Thomas, Painbeni & Barton, 2013). Despite the idea that this is a bad aspect, some consumers have nothing against animals. Others thought that it depends on the type of animal on the label. Consumers note that the animal put on the label has to be related to the region of the origin of the wine. In a way, wine labelling provides confident about the wine and promote their general interest in the wine. The chart below illustrates what the customer perceive about animals used wine labelling.

It is significant to note that wine consumers mainly rely on the bottle label to infer the quality of the wine content. Accordingly, there are strong preferences for selected colour shape combination and label design. Consumers are normally willing to pay premium prices for the desired attributes of the bottle and its label.

4.3 Improvements that are possible for the wine producers outside the region of Bordeaux and Bourgogne

Marketing can be defined as an action, set institutions and rigorous process establishing, communication, delivering exchanging provisions to have value for clients, customers, partners and the community largely (Finkelstein & Quiazon, 2007). It can also be defined as a management process through which goods and services move from the producer to the final consumer. It is significant to note that wine marketing contains some degree of traditional marketing like the product marketing, product self-promotion, placement aspects of branding and new product development. Effective marketing is very crucial given the high competition challenge that the French wine industry faces both locally and internationally. The French wine industry is regarded to be more production oriented than market oriented. Even with the little government help to assist the industry in a global promotion, this aid is largely indiscriminate and lacks coordination (Barber, 2005). Very little time and financial resources are placed on the wine market research. More significantly, even in the European Union France still gets less financial support as far as wine marketing is concerned. For instance, France was allotted €280.5m every year between now 2015 and 2017. This was far much less very much less compared to the other two big wine producers of Europe, Spain and Italy. For an effective marketing of the French wine outside Bordeaux and Bourgogne to take place, there is need to carry out industrial restructuring to reposition the market posture and supply chain. Effective wine marketing ought to include wine market parlance. The above simply implies to activate the perception about the product use condition. The above mostly lies in the interest of the customers in building their knowledge and intellectual involvement in the product.

Moreover, the role of Walter and sommerlier is very significant in directing the perceived impacts of drinking occasions to the sensory pleasure. In this way, while wine excellent wine is significant for the wine experience and the story behind adds much to that experience, and the story will be re-narrated over and over again (Thomas, Painbeni & Barton, 2013). Accordingly, the wine drinking experience has much to provide about the visual and aural anticipation as it does from the taste and smell. In this way to effectively market wine outside Bordeaux and Bourgogne regions, the restaurateur would be regarded as storytellers changing the dining experience to fit the diverse consumers for diverse occasions.

Increase consumer power

Additionally, there is need to acknowledge consumer power in effective wine marketing. If we are made to understand each time that customers have absolute powers, then those in the wine industry ought to recognise the fact that wine labels have the power to make the label of wine consumers look better (Maurel, 2009). Moreover, supporting each consumer power with a story would help to change the looks or appearance into an abiding desire taking the consumers beyond what the label on the wine itself allows them to see.

Product differentiation

Improving the wine label and packaging will also lead to effective marketing. Buying bottles of wine is normally a complicated issue in many customers. The marketing of wine package that comprises of several closely related features (the shape of the bottle, colour, closure and the design of the label) normally infers with major aspects of client experience, knowledge of the wine, self-confidence and the occasion at hand to make a purchasing decision. While some consumers will buy wine depending on the experience, many places greater significant on the general wine label and bottle packaging. There is also need for extra product differentiation. Apart from marketing specific and attracting labels, wine manufacturers should make good use of unique bottle shapes, colour and closure to differentiate their wines from their competitors. Wine marketing can be differentiated at three different levels. These levels include a benefit, which is intensive, tangible product benefit and the core or enhanced product benefit. However, the core benefit is the most significant of the three (Mueller, Lockshin, Saltman, & Blanford, 2010). To ensure that wine marketing taps into the customer’s core need the wine’s properties (which include touch, sight and smell) should be made tangible by linking them to the client’s knowledge and experience. The above can be achieved through three main elements. These include the wine packaging, type coupled with the material used, and the shape of the bottle, which identifies the style of the wines. For instance, the champagne shape is globally accepted. However, its price changes as the size of the bottle increases. This in turn determines the scarcity of the wine as demonstrated in the graph below.

Data for Champagne have been found on company’s websites. The figure presents the relationship between the sizes of the bottle measured as the number of standard bottles and the scarcity index. The relationship computed for seven different producers. The scarcity curve is similar despite the perceived quality of the producer. The index also upsurges for smaller bottles (375ml) up to one. In addition, the larger the size of the bottle, the higher the scarcity index, up to 2.1.

Finally, the third element is the label and the information presented. These would include the type of grapes used, the brand name, vintage and the percentage of alcohol in the wine (Celhay & Passebois, 2011). Moreover, for effective wine marketing, the intangible features; as the image and the channel of distribution ought to work in concert with the tangible gains. For instance, fine wine should not be distributed in discount stores. It is significant to note that any disparities in those benefits, would negatively impact on the consumer perception of the product.

Good product promotion

There is also need to carry out a good product promotion and advertisement and establish a good brand name. The above is based on the idea that consumers use information to reduce risks and increase their knowledge. Information is known to influence the purchasing behaviour of consumers depending on the ways through which it is presented, the manner in which it is perceived and processed. It is also imperative to note that meaningful information is varied. Accordingly, wine users rely heavily on information on labels, journals, and wine writers and retail sale associates. It is important to note that at times wine producers are not consistent with the information disclosure thus give little regard to the consumers’ needs and wants.

Adding to the difficulty of wine purchasing decisions, wine customer is given several types of products from where to make a choice (Steiner, 2002,). To manage these complications, customers processes information from their wine knowledge and preference base and depend on outside sources such as friends, family a, wine magazine among others. Accordingly, to increase consumer knowledge about the wine, proper advertisements ought to be made. In this way, the wine information will reach the right audience at the right time with the right information.

Entrepreneurial marketing

There is also need to carry out entrepreneurial marketing. The strategy involves incorporating the client’s preference, rival intelligence and product knowledge in the process of establishing and offering greater value to the client (Steiner, 2000). Entrepreneur Marketing, is a combination of the focus on the market, the creation of innovative insights, identifying new opportunities and sources of creativity, risk-taking capacities, leveraging style and marketing behaviour, motivated and controlled by managers, personality and trait. Use of entrepreneurial marketing will encourage innovation, create, and renew competitive advantage through sustainable value proposition in the existing and potential or new markets. Moreover, the approach enhances the image and reputation to develop wine style about quality uniqueness and variation. Furthermore, it enriches creativity as the growth engine of the wine industry’s competitiveness, benefits and improves the firms’ profitability.

Additionally, it is significant to note that the wine market is broad as a complicated one for customers to make choices. However, the above has not evaded the significance of product differentiation because of globalization (Celhay & Passebois, 2011). In bigger industries, there is a probability for commonages to find niches where commodes already exist because of differentiation. Consequently, in the wine industry product differentiation becomes the small wineries’ major opportunity.

Creation of networks

Networking is recognised as a central element in entrepreneurial marketing. Networks can be established within the regional cluster, which includes distributors, suppliers, investors and the media. The above is significant in securing information for creativity and innovation such as n any potential opportunity that may be exploited to ensure continued competitive advantage. There is also need for French wine firms to engage in several activities to support its distributors in its global markets. The above can be for instance be holding special dinners where menu pairing is a significant element. Use of winery visits and organised wine tours are also key factors for success in the growth of French wine market. The above is due to the idea that these approaches indicated a real growth in brand recognition.

Online marketing

There is also need to make use of online selling and marketing. In this digital age, the French wine industry would reach a wider market through online marketing. There is need to make good use of channels and platforms such as Facebook and other tools to put the customer at the core of the business.

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