While a large body of literature explores how international wine trade correlates with country, market and national industry characteristics, research at firm level on the choice to export (export propensity) and on the importance of exports on production or sales (export intensity) remains scarce. More importantly, a review of the literature reveals inconsistent results across the different studies regarding the variables correlated with export choices. No such analysis was conducted in Italy. Based on a survey of 180 wine firms in Piedmont (Italy), we estimate the variables correlated to export propensity and intensity. Our findings indicate that the most relevant factors include belonging to a wine producer cluster, wine quality and the firm’s legal status. Other variables are analyzed, confirming the divergent findings in the literature. We conclude that local and individual characteristics play an important role in these decisions.
