PREFERENCES OF WINE CONSUMERS FROM DOLORES HIDALGO, GUANAJUATO: A CHOICE EXPERIMENT APPROACH

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine which are the most relevant attributes of wine for consumers of this drink, in the region of Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, Mexico. This with the purpose of providing information that may be useful to wine producers in the decisions to be made. The attributes to be evaluated were origin, variety, aging time in barrels, and price, paying special attention to the influence of the origin attribute. We used the method of choice experiments, for which 120 surveys were applied to wine consumers older than 18 years, in the municipality of Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato. Using the mixed logit model, we found that the most valued attribute was the aging time in barrels, followed by origin, and the variety at third place. The favourite product was a wine produced in Guanajuato, in 750 mL bottles, aged in wooden barrels for twelve months, Merlot variety, for which the respondents reported willingness to pay $750 MXN pesos.