Economists explore 'loca-pouring' of wines

The 2013 grape harvest is in full swing, but when this vintage is bottled, will it appear on a wine list at your favorite restaurant? According to a team of researchers from Cornell's Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, the décor and menu are the most useful predictors of whether restaurants across the state will offer New York wines. "The locavore movement has encouraged restaurants to focus on local and seasonal," said assistant professor Brad Rickard. "Yet, as Wine Spectator senior editor James Molesworth noted in an op-ed two years ago, 'locavores don't always loca-pour.' Given the number of restaurants and the emerging wine industry, it's an important phenomenon for New York state wineries and consumers to understand." In a study published as a working paper by the American Association of Wine Economists, Rickard, graduate student Joseph Perla and associate professor Todd Schmit mined the Zagat Survey - an online reference for restaurant reviews and information on cuisine, food quality, décor and cost. This data was combined with information on wines offered in 1,500 restaurants and analyzed to identify the attributes that went hand in hand with a willingness to buy local wines. "When we looked at all New York state wines, restaurants that serve New American cuisine were far more likely to serve local wines than other cuisines," Rickard said. "A focus on natural or organic ingredients and a high Zagat décor rating were also correlated with a willingness to buy local." What does the décor score have to do with local wines? Rickard hypothesizes that décor is perhaps a proxy for the restaurant's attention to detail, aesthetics and emphasis on the consumer experience.