The Utilisation of a Central Wine Marketing Organisation in The Re‐Marketing of Austrian Wine — Post ‐ 1985

Abstract

In June 1985 an Austrian wine producer was found sweetening low‐priced wine for export to Germany, with an illegal substance, diethylene glycol. Subsequent investigation found a very small percentage of Austrian producers doing the same thing. The “Anti Freeze” connotation caught the imagination of the media, particularly in Britain, which had a field day of “humorous” and often inaccurate stories. Within a few weeks, Austrian wine sales dropped disastrously. The author, both an interested observer as well as a participant in the ensuing campaign to re‐establish Austrian wines, examines the story of the scandal, and more importantly, the sequence of action that followed. In particular, the article looks at the setting up and operation of the Austrian Wine Marketing Service and the worth of such organisations.

Citation

Skinner, P. (1993), "The Utilisation of a Central Wine Marketing Organisation in The Re‐Marketing of Austrian Wine — Post ‐ 1985", International Journal of Wine Marketing, Vol. 5 No. 4, pp. 4-14. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb008618