Is good wine enough? Place, reputation, and wine tourism in Burgundy

Abstract

This chapter is unique in that it doesn't present Burgundy as a best practice in global wine tourism, but does recognize that Burgundy is world famous to wine tourists because of its reputation for fine wine. Indeed, the fact that eight of the top ten most expensive wines in the world come from Burgundy (Young, 2013) supports the premise the Burgundian wine is a luxury product (Beverland, 2006), and has achieved a brand position to which many other wine regions of the world aspire. The questions posed are, "Is good wine enough?" and "Does Burgundy need to enhance its wine tourism offering?" By examining the strengths and weaknesses of wine tourism in the Cote d'Or and Beaujolais regions of Burgundy, this chapter identifies problems and provides a series of recommended solutions on additional steps Burgundy should take in order to move into the realm of a true best practice destination for wine tourism. Based on a series of in-depth interviews with 23 wine makers, négociants and tourism authorities from Burgundy, this chapter provides deep insight into wine tourism issues that can arise in a region that has a long heritage based on luxury wine.