The Cultural Construction of the Wine Tourism Experience in Japan, China and Australia

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K13853
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Sociology
• Research Institution: Sophia University
• Principal Investigator: Wang Chuanfei 上智大学, 比較文化研究所, 研究員 (60780145)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: Wine tourism / Japan / Comparative studies / Global studies / Building wine tourism

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research addresses the question of how wine tourism is culturally constructed in places where wine is not part of local culinary culture. It focuses on Japan with the comparative references of China and Australia. The three countries share the similarity that their wine-producing culture is not as long as those well-established European wine-producing countries and they are newly-emerged wine producers in the global wine world. The qualitative data collected through interviews and participant observations and the sociological concept of the "wine world" illustrate that wine tourism is constructed by a network of actors--governmental and educational institutions, entrepreneurs, hospitality facilities, volunteer groups, and residents. "Terroir", meaning the natural and cultural conditions, is an effective conceptual tool for building a wine-producing area as a wine tourism destination, embracing both the natural landscape and cultural values related to wine-making practices.

Free Research Field

グローバリゼーション、文化社会学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

ワインツーリズムは日本における新しい経済的、文化的現象である。本研究は、ワインツーリズムがワイン文化を創造、消費するプラットフォームとしての理論構築に貢献した。日本国外のワイン産地、特に日本に似たようなワイン産地文化の新興国と比較し、ワインツーリズムが「ワイン自体よりワイン文化を生産・消費する」という本質を認識することができた。そして、ワインツーリズムが単に経済創出するビジネスの一つではなく、産業として地域社会の文化、経済及び社会の創業的な発展を促進する産業であることが確認できた。このような社会貢献するワインツーリズムの構築に関する実用的な洞察を日本及び比較対象の事例を通じて提供した。