"Environmental certification" wine prices 7% higher than the price of ordinary products

Recently, an economic analysis of more than 13,000 wines in the United States showed that the prices of wines that received “certification of the environment” were 7% higher than the prices of ordinary products in the market, and they were evaluated in the famous Wine Spectator magazine in the United States. The scores obtained are higher, which is undoubtedly a great news for wineries and growers who have already invested in organic wine making.

However, it is ironic that the research also found that those products whose brand name was “environmentally cultivated” as their slogan had a real average price drop of 20%. Obviously, "environmental certification" and "environmental protection" are two concepts in the eyes of consumers.

In fact, only one-third of the wineries that have received the "certification of the environment" will mark the label as "environmental protection information" because many wine merchants intuitively believe that consumers will confuse "organically cultivated grapes" and "organic wines." concept. The researchers said: “We have found that consumers do not want to pay more for products labeled with the 'eco-label'. However, some products have been certified for environmental protection even though they do not have eco-labels, and they can sell at high prices.”

According to statistics, those wines that do not have environmental protection signs and actually have environmental certifications are 11.7% higher than similar products.

The above study was co-authored by Magali Delmas, an assistant professor of the School of Environmental Management at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Laura Grant, the environmental sciences student at the University of Santa Barbara. They analyzed 13,426 wines from 1,495 wineries in California. From 1998 to 2005, the products involved more than 30 grape varieties and 25 production areas.

The organic logo is a double-edged sword: Delmas said: "You may have heard of the term "Pagan contradiction". This report is a complete U.S. version. You want any product with an organic label to sell at a high price. But it's counterproductive, and this is a common phenomenon and it's not limited to California wine."

The researchers tracked each of the Wine Spectator magazine-rated products and then listed the number of wines that were brewed using third-party organic or Biodynamic certification. They also checked whether the wineries would label the label "organically cultivated grapes."

The final data analysis confirmed that organic trademarks are a double-edged sword. They have little effect on cheap wine pricing or scoring, but they have produced good results for wines over US$25. For organic certified wines, as long as the wineries do not stick green labels, the price of these products is 13% higher than that of wines produced in the same production area, the same year, the same grape variety and the traditional method. In addition, wines made from organically cultivated grapes have scores more than one point higher than those of wines made by traditional methods.

The real market situation is like this: “The mark of using organically cultivated grapes” not only reduces the price of wine, but also lowers the price by 7% compared to similar products made by traditional methods.

The survey found that the average price of wine with eco-labels was 37.65 US dollars. The same environmental protection certification has resulted in an average price of $40.54 for similar products without an ecolabel on the label.

Delmas said: “Two-thirds of the wines surveyed suspect that consumers do not like to use organically cultivated wines. Why would they resist the environmental protection label?”

With regard to the reasons for the devaluation of wines with eco-labels, the researchers suspect that it may be related to consumer cognition. Many people can't tell the difference between “using organically grown grapes” and “organic wines without adding sulphur dioxide”.

Currently, Delmas continues to research the links between organic certified wines and quality, and is doing a survey on consumer preferences. She said initial results show that consumers are more supportive of low-priced wines with eco-friendly signs.

“The information that is worthy of recognition in this report is that we found that organic certification is directly proportional to the Wine Watcher score. The most important thing for wineries is to combine organic certification and quality to change the perception of consumers.”

Organic raw materials certified by the United States Department of Agriculture for organic wine certification in the United States come from farms and vineyards that have restricted the use of herbicides, insecticides, and genetically modified seeds for at least three years. Specific certifications include 100% Organic, Organic, Organic Grape Brewing, Biodynamic Farming, 100% Organic, and Biodynamic.

100% Organic Wine: Made from 100% certified organic material, no synthetic biomass is used in the brewing process and no sulfite is added. Naturally generated sulfates in these wines range from 10-20/million units. This wine label will be affixed with the United States Department of Agriculture organic certification seal, the content is "100% organic."

Organic wines: 95% of the raw materials are organically certified grapes and no sulfites are added. The wine merchant must prove that there is no certified organic grape in the remaining 5% of the raw material. This wine label covers the seal of the United States Department of Agriculture organic certification.

Organic grapes make wine: The raw material contains 70% certified organic grapes, and sulfite can be added to no more than 100/million units. This wine label will not be stamped with the US Department of Agriculture organic certification seal.

Biodynamic wine: Biodynamic farming is used to treat the vineyard as a self-recycling ecosystem, emphasizing the relationship between elements such as soil, plants, animals and astrology. For example, grapes are planted, trimmed, and harvested according to the lunar cycle. This is the concept proposed by the 20th century Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner. Certified biodynamic wines must contain no more than 100/million sulfites.

Organic and biodynamic dual-certified wines: Contains very low sulphites and wine grapes are planted according to the maximum range of sustainable standards. The "100% organic" wine contains the least amount of sulfite.

Note: The “paradoxical contradiction” mentioned in the text refers to the observation that France’s cardiovascular disease is surprisingly low, while France’s dietary intake of fat is definitely less than what we do. This phenomenon was first noticed by an Irish physiologist named Samuel Black in 1819. Later, Dr. Dr. Bordeaux University, France. Serge Renaud cracked this mystery for everyone in 1992: The reason why France's cardiovascular disease is very low is because French people have a large demand for wine, which reduces the incidence of disease.