After reading the “Financial Stability and Viability of Wine Tourism Business in the GWC”  conducted by Great Wine Capitals my opinion is that the research needs to be replicated in the United States with appropriate numbers of respondents for descriptive statistics to be accurate. The research conducted relied heavily on responses from old world wine regions compared to new world wine regions. Data was obtained from 102 wineries from Bordeaux whereas data from only 25 wineries was obtained from Napa. It would be interesting to observe the data generated if the survey included different wine regions in the United States. Data from the research may paint a picture of international wine tourism, however, the data, results, conclusion and discussion may differ if replicated in the United States. For example, the data indicates that men outnumber women  as wine tourists. It would be interesting to see that data for the United States.

The conclusions in the research report were not scientifically reported but rather assumptions based on the data were presented. For example the authors of the study concluded that wine tourism activities are sustainable and viable. I’d rather see the data that led to that discussion point. The authors make the conclusion that there are gaps between old and new wine world regions but it is probably not important. This discussion point did not offer supporting data.

The research was a good attempt to look at wine tourism. It should be replicated in the United States with different wine regions from around the country. Conclusions should be based on the data and a discussion section added to discuss the conclusions. After a discussion section of the report, the authors can write recommendations.

Cheers,
Terry