Does Organic Wine Taste Better? An Analysis of Experts’ Ratings

Abstract

Eco-labels are part of a new wave of environmental policy that emphasizes information disclosure as a tool to induce environmentally friendly behavior by both firms and consumers. Little consensus exists as to whether eco-certified products are actually better than their conventional counterparts. This paper seeks to understand the link between eco-certification and product quality. We use data from three leading wine rating publications (Wine Advocate, Wine Enthusiast, and Wine Spectator) to assess quality for 74,148 wines produced in California between 1998 and 2009. Our results indicate that eco-certification is associated with a statistically significant increase in wine quality rating.

Keywords: eco-labels, credence goods, information disclosure policy, asymmetric information, product quality

JEL Classification: Q56, Q13, L15, L66, Q21