The Construction and Realisation of Geographic Brand Rent in New Zealand Wine

This paper examines the concept of geographic brand rent in production and marketing of New Zealand wine. It is argued that the region of origin for fine wine is not only a recognised feature of its value but that this may be conceived as a form of brand rent and furthermore that it is measurable. The analysis uses both cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches to consider grape and vineyard land prices, as well as interviews with industry informants to explore wine company strategies. Explicit use is made of the value-added chain in order to identify and situate the construction of rents and the positionality of industry actors in respect to these. The analysis highlights the quest to control different forms of brand rent that have led the restructuring of the wine industry. It also exposes countervailing pressures towards economic resilience and market vulnerability facing the fine wine industry.