Do wine prices reflect the environmental and social engagement of winemakers? An analysis of online prices of the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo wine

This study aims to estimate a hedonic price model to assess whether environmental and social responsibility practices are associated with a price premium. Utilizing a sample of online retail prices for Montepulciano d’Abruzzo wine, we leverage the fact that winery websites and online stores provide more detailed and comprehensive information about producers than wine labels, allowing consumers to make more informed and ethically motivated purchasing decisions. The results confirm that consumers are willing to pay a premium price for wines certified as organic or biodynamic. However, we find no significant evidence that other social responsibility practices influence the price. Nevertheless, this result should not be directly interpreted as a lack of consumer interest in socially responsible practices, but rather as a potential consequence of imperfect information.