Honors Theses and Capstones

Date of Award

Spring 2018

Project Type

Senior Honors Thesis

College or School

COLA

Department

Political Science

Program or Major

Political Science and International Affairs

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

First Advisor

Elizabeth Carter

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to understand the social context surrounding wine and how consumers and producers will act within the existing market structures to physical changes to wine due to climate change. After defining the socially embedded structure of market values, this paper questions how they will survive with the visible and invisible changes being made to wines and wine regions. Through various case studies the paper uncovers climate events happening across the world and how they will potentially change the economic landscape of wine markets. The different lenses required to understand the market lead to competing conclusions. Economists argue that market structures will allow for producers to fill in the gaps produced by these climate events whereas sociologists see the embedded values of certain wines irreplaceable as changing climates affect the physiological makeup of valued wines and wine regions.

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