Importance of wine attributes: a South African Generation Y perspective

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to: determine the relative importance that Generation Y consumers indicate for 13 wine attributes in their selection of wine; determine if these wine attributes are significantly distinct in importance in the mind of the consumer; and compare the wine attribute importance findings with the US findings of Chrysochou et al. (2012). Design/methodology/approach Quantitative data were gathered from a convenience student sample (n=429) to which the Best-Worst Scaling method was applied for 13 pre-determined wine attributes in a Balanced Incomplete Block Design. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, t-tests and mixed model repeated measure ANOVA. Findings Respondents were able to differentiate between the importance of wine attributes. Taste was the most important wine attribute followed by someone recommended it. Alcohol level below 13 per cent was least important. Firm controlled information such as information on back label was of little importance. South African Generation Y consumers seem to select wine similarly to those in the USA. Originality/value Findings contribute to generation-based research in wine marketing and increase the understanding of the wine selection behaviour of Generation Y consumers in South Africa. More effective marketing strategies to Generation Y consumers can result to grow wine consumption in this significant segment.