Exploring the reputation of the Ontario wine industry: What is making wine consumers in Toronto buy or ignore wines from Ontario?

Abstract

This research project investigates what is making wine consumers in Toronto buy or ignore wines from Ontario. The concept of organizational identity: the features of the company that appear to be central and enduring to internal publics, the internal public in this case being the winery owners, was explored and compared to the organizational image: the perception held by customers, in this case wine consumers. The comparison helped determine the corporate reputation. This research project involved in-depth telephone interviews with 15 winery owners and other winery staff members from the Niagara Peninsula and Prince Edward County wine regions. Toronto wine consumers were also solicited to complete a short online survey. Based on the research findings, the Ontario wine’s industry organizational identity can be defined as an industry with high quality products and beautiful wine regions. The organizational image based on the research findings can be defined as an industry with delicious products and beautiful wine regions. This research project also demonstrate that both groups (key players in industry and wine consumers) are aligned with regards to the importance of quality of the product, an intrinsic attribute. Consequently, having a winery experience and the quality of wine are the two main factors playing a role in building the reputation of Ontario wines. Finally, this research project delivers an assessment tool designed to determine which wine consumers in Toronto represent the greatest potential of loyal consumers of wines from Ontario.