For many purchases, consumers often possess only limited information about product quality. Thus, observable product characteristics are used to determine expected quality levels when making purchase decisions. We use more than 1 million weekly scanner-level observations from grocery stores across ten U.S. markets between September 2009 and August 2012 to examine how consumers value a wine bottle's closure type (i.e., cork or screw cap). We focus on lower-priced wines—those with sale prices less than $30 per 750 milliliter bottle—to more accurately evaluate decisions of consumers for whom seeking additional information about wine quality is likely more costly than the benefits derived from that information. Using both pooled ordinary least squares and quantile regressions to estimate price premiums for bottles with corks or screw caps, we find that U.S. consumers are willing to pay, on average, approximately 8% more (about $1.00) for a bottle of wine that has a cork closure. In addition, we show that the size of this premium increases as wine prices decline. (JEL Classifications: D81, M31, Q11)

Vintage goods are a unique set of goods that accrue value over time. Unlike producers for many other vintage goods, Scottish distilleries often mature their stocks to different ages and sell a product line that varies significantly in quality. This article develops a theoretical model to examine this maturation strategy and identify market conditions under which a distillery would produce multiple ages of whisky. An empirical analysis of distilleries’ product lines confirms results from the model and highlights the determinants of variety and substitutability between brands. (JEL Classifications: D43, L13, L66)

This study tests the prevalence of choice overload (CO) in the U.S. beer market. We reveal that even if CO exists, sellers have mechanisms to reduce CO's negative consequences. The article describes the implementation of search cost-reducing private nudges (i.e., product quality scores and prominently listed specials) sellers commonly utilize to minimize CO's negative consequences. Our results suggest that, while CO exists for some buyers, it can be eliminated by market interactions on the part of the seller. (JEL Classifications: C93, D03, Q13)

In this article, we analyze the impact of varying exchange rates on French wine exports using a dynamic Armington panel model for the time period from 2000 to 2011. Our results suggest that French wines have become less competitive during the 2000s. This is due to two factors: rising domestic wine prices relative to foreign competitors and the appreciation of the euro against the USD and the GBP. Chinese demand appears to be a key driver of French wine exports. In addition, we find some compositional effects in Bordeaux wine exports. In response to the appreciation of the euro, the share of high-priced wines has increased, suggesting some degree of quality sorting in response to exchange-rate changes. (JEL Classification: F14, F31, Q17)

In recent years, several European antitrust authorities intervened in the wine sector to authorize mergers and acquisitions, provide opinions to governments, and ascertain anticompetitive agreements. This article analyzes these interventions in the context of an evolving regulatory framework. I draw conclusions about the direction of competition policy, in particular in relation to possible co-operations among various players in the wine industry. (JEL Classifications: K21, L40, L51)