New England Australia: What Follows from Regional Status? A Comparative, Political Economy Approach

Abstract

The New England Australia wine region was formally defined on the basis of geographical indicators (GIs) in January 2008. To date, the region has pursued a marketing approach built principally on its GI-defined regional status, emphasising cool climate diurnal variation, as well as some markers of cultural and political identity, such as 'family' and 'artisan' production. This general marketing profile fits hand in glove with that of a region 'presenting an image of quality and tradition' (Chang et al, 2006: 6). Yet, as Garcia-Parpet (2007) has reminded us, marketing is not merely about product promotion. It is also about the strategies that businesses adopt to achieve market entry, both legal and cultural, and the mechanisms for circumventing possible barriers. With this in mind, we contrast the marketing strategies of the New England wine-producing region in Australia with that of the Languedoc-Roussillon region in France. While the two occupy similar market positions, they nonetheless reveal diametrically opposed marketing strategies. Against the background of this comparative discussion, we seek to propose methods to enhance the development of the New England wine region so that it becomes a more complete example of successful rural restructuring.