Wine with geographical indication – awareness of Croatian consumers

Quality and top quality wines (wines with geographical indication (GI)) have a larger share (59 per cent) on the Croatian market and this was one of the reasons for defining the subject of the research. Although there are a few market research studies, none of them is completely oriented on the role and market significance of GI of wine. There is an evident lack of information in this field. This paper aims to address these issues.

The population of the basic group is a high‐qualified population for reviewing different aspects of wine as a complex product. Stratification of the units from the sample has been made on the sample (n=200). Data were analysed using univariate statistics, bivariate correlations and multiple factor analysis.

Results have shown a high correlation degree between the higher socioeconomic status of examinees and preferences for wine with GI. It might be concluded that examinees with a higher level of education are more familiar with wine with GI and also have a higher culture of wine consumption.

The sample, including only expert groups from institutions, could be understood to be a limitation of this study although they are a highly‐qualified population for reviewing different aspects of wine as a complex product. Further research is needed to analyse other consumer groups and to determine possible differences in attitudes.

Research results indicate a need to increase consumers' familiarity with GI wine. Overall positive attitudes towards wine with GI should be reinforced and consumers could be influenced through targeted advertising.

The paper presents some Croatian consumers' opinions about the importance of GI of consumed wine. Extracted are the main impact factors regarding the wine selection.