Title: The symbolic value of wine: wine tourism and small vineyards in Maule Valley and central Chile

Authors: Roberto Cortés; Macarena Dehnhardt; Alexis Matheu; Claudio Ruff

Addresses: Institutional Research Center, Universidad Bernardo O'Higgins, Chile ' Institutional Research Center, Universidad Bernardo O'Higgins, Chile ' Institutional Research Center, Universidad Bernardo O'Higgins, Chile ' Institutional Research Center, Universidad Bernardo O'Higgins, Chile

Abstract: The interest aroused by the vineyards of the Maule Valley at the national and international levels is evidence of a relationship between traditional Chilean viticulture and natural wines due to the boom in the tourism and gastronomic market related to organic wine. Although heritage vineyards have been the subject of anthropological studies, no monographic works that analyse the tourist insertion of traditional vineyards have been generated. This work is mixed-methods and exploratory research based on a literature review and statistics on patrimonial and small traditional vineyards in Chile. Subsequently, informal interviews were conducted with small winemakers grouped into different associations of independent winemakers. The analysis of the informal interviews was conducted through the topics of tourism insertion. The research question that guides this study is: What are the tourism potentials of heritage vineyards in Maule Valley and central Chile?

Keywords: wine tourism; rural tourism; heritage vineyards; Artisanal wine production; Chilean Valleys.

DOI: 10.1504/PIE.2024.140513

Progress in Industrial Ecology, An International Journal, 2024 Vol.17 No.1/2, pp.49 - 60

Received: 21 Aug 2023
Accepted: 30 Jan 2024
Published online: 21 Aug 2024 *

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