Crafting the Image and Telling the Story a Cross-Cultural Analysis of Winery Identity in France and Australia
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Crafting the image and telling the story a cross-cultural analysis of winery identity in France and Australia. Amie Sexton ORCID iD 0000-0001-7740-3447 Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Languages & Linguistics, Faculty of Arts The University of Melbourne February 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ............................................................................................................................................. iii Declaration ........................................................................................................................................ iv Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................................... iv 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 1.1. Framing the Thesis ............................................................................................. 3 1.2. Literature Review ............................................................................................... 7 1.3. Research Setting and Approach ....................................................................... 10 1.4. Thesis Structure ................................................................................................ 14 2. An Ethnographic Grounded Theory Approach ...................................................................... 16 2.1. Ethnography ..................................................................................................... 16 2.2. Case Studies ..................................................................................................... 20 2.3. Grounded Theory ............................................................................................. 24 2.4. The Marriage of Ethnography and Grounded Theory ..................................... 30 2.5. Data Collection ................................................................................................. 30 2.6. Fieldwork .......................................................................................................... 34 2.7. Data Analysis .................................................................................................... 38 3. Historical Background and Contemporary Situation ............................................................. 41 3.1. Global Wine History ......................................................................................... 41 3.2. A History of Wine in Bordeaux ......................................................................... 49 3.3. Grands Crus Contemporary Situation .............................................................. 59 3.4. A History of Wine in Victoria ............................................................................ 60 3.5. The Grampians History and Contemporary Situation ..................................... 68 4. Case Studies ............................................................................................................................ 69 4.1. Mount Langi Ghiran ......................................................................................... 70 4.2. Best’s Great Western ....................................................................................... 74 i 4.3. Château Lynch-Bages ....................................................................................... 79 4.4. Château Beychevelle ........................................................................................ 85 4.5. Other interviews: .............................................................................................. 90 5. Categories ............................................................................................................................... 92 5.1. History ............................................................................................................ 100 5.2. People ............................................................................................................. 112 5.3. Story ................................................................................................................ 124 5.4. Quality ............................................................................................................ 136 5.5. Philosophy ...................................................................................................... 143 5.6. Authenticity .................................................................................................... 152 5.7. Image .............................................................................................................. 165 5.8. Communication .............................................................................................. 186 5.9. Education ........................................................................................................ 206 5.10. Business .......................................................................................................... 217 5.11. Industry ........................................................................................................... 229 6. The Grounded Theory: Wineries responding to a changing market ................................... 243 7. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 254 References .................................................................................................................................... 258 ii ABSTRACT This research explores the construction of winery identity in France and Australia. Focusing on wine producers’ perspectives, it is based on case studies of four wineries in Bordeaux (France) and The Grampians (Australia). The research concerns premium, boutique wine producers in both regions. To situate the study in context, the thesis begins with an historical account of the global wine industry, and of each of the two regions. An ethnographical grounded theory approach was used to collect and analyse data from the four case study wineries. Data was collected in the form of interviews, observations and published material, and was analysed using a coding process to organise the data into thematic categories. A detailed ethnographical account of each winery was drawn, revealing producers’ motivations, aspirations, philosophies and values. Relationships and change emerged from the data as the two most significant concerns for the wineries as a group. In a rapidly changing market, increased competition and changing consumption habits have augmented the importance of relationships in the wine world and forced producers to rethink how they operate. The research revealed that their principal question is how to continue producing authentic, quality wine while adapting to globalisation, fierce competition, new modes of communication and changing consumer desires. Through exploring the significance of relationships and change, the analysis produced a theory of the way wineries define their identity, craft their image and tell their story in response to the changing market and as a means of ensuring future success. Thus, via the case studies, the research explores the development of winery identity in France and Australia in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries in a global context. As a cross-cultural study that considers the many factors that constitute and influence how wineries craft their image and tell their story, it aims to elucidate the interaction between production, consumption, commercialisation and culture in a global marketplace. iii DECLARATION This is to certify that: i. the thesis comprises only my original work towards the PhD except where indicated in the preface; ii. due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other material used; iii. the thesis is fewer than the maximum word limit in length, exclusive of tables, maps, bibliographies and appendices. Amie Sexton ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am very grateful to the people who have been involved in my research. Thanks to all the interviewees in France and Australia, and the many other people in the wine industry who took the time to discuss their world and assist me with my project. Thanks to my supervisors, A/Prof Jacqueline Dutton, Dr Andrew McGregor and Dr Alastair Hurst, for their guidance. Heartfelt gratitude to family and friends for support in many shapes and forms along the way. Giant thanks and infinite love to my two amazing small people, Gabriel and Lucie, who have lived the PhD process with me. I gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Fay Marles Scholarship and Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship throughout my candidature, and The Elizabeth & Nicholas Slezak Scholarship, The Richard Gunter Bursary, The University of Melbourne French Trust Fund Scholarship, and the Institut des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin for travel support for the fieldwork. iv 1. INTRODUCTION This research set out to explore wine in France and Australia from an anthropological perspective. Although there are many people involved in the production and consumption of wine – from grape growers to journalists, sommeliers to consumers – I chose to focus on wine producers, the people responsible for creating this beverage and sending it out to the world. As there has been very little research on wine producers to date, the study is exploratory in nature, seeking to discover