The new gold: The role of place and heritage in the marketing of the Central Otago wine region

Abstract

The wine industry represents an interesting case study of the way place remains relevant, or even increases in importance, within a globalising economy. As Hayward and Lewis (2008) argue, place has value and the naming of places (and often the protection of these names) has become part of the economic landscape of industries such as wine, dairy products, meat, fruit and olive oils. Wine is an integral part of Old World heritage and culture, and is incorporated into the cultural landscapes of these regions, providing a rich source of place of origin branding. Many long-established wine regions have enduring and powerful narratives of place, centred around tradition and terroir. By comparison, emerging wine regions in the New World generally lack a connection to long-established wine culture and heritage. In some situations what emerging wine regions lack in heritage they make up for in innovative production techniques and scale. However, there are many New World wine regions that have much more in common with their Old World counterparts in terms of wine production volume and scale. In a global wine market characterised by a myriad of wine brands that are competing on price and long-established regional winemaking reputations, these emerging boutique regions need to foster regional brands that resonate with consumers.