TY  - JOUR
AU  - Cross,Robin
AU  - Plantinga,Andrew J.
AU  - Stavins,Robert N.
TI  - The Value of Terroir: Hedonic Estimation of Vineyard Sale Prices
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 16762
PY  - 2011
Y2  - February 2011
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w16762
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w16762.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Robin Cross
Oregon State University
Rm #221B Ballard Extension Hall
Corvallis Oregon 97331-3601
E-Mail: robin.cross@oregonstate.edu

Andrew Plantinga
Department of Agricultural
& Resource Economics
Oregon State University
Rm #212B Ballard Extension Hall
Corvallis, OR 97331-4501
E-Mail: Plantinga@oregonstate.edu

Robert Stavins
JFK School of Government
Harvard University
79 JFK Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Tel: 617/495-1820
Fax: 617/496-3783
E-Mail: robert_stavins@harvard.edu
AB  - We examine the value of terroir, which refers to the special characteristics of a place that impart unique qualities to the wine produced.  We do this by conducting a hedonic analysis of vineyard sales in the Willamette Valley of Oregon to ascertain whether site attributes, such as slope, aspect, elevation, and soil types, or designated appellations are more important determinants of price.  We find that prices are strongly determined by sub-AVA appellation designations, but not by specific site attributes.  These results indicate that the concept of terroir matters economically, although the reality of terroir – as proxied for by locational attributes – is not significant.
ER  -