Wine festivals : an anthropological insight

Abstract

The dissertation explores the attending patrons’ contribution to the wine producers’ position in the free market, within the context of the wine festivals (as hosted by Delicata and Marsovin). The patrons’ engagement within the festivities denotes matters of ‘authenticity’ and ‘conformity’, in pursuing a particular ‘lifestyle’. The wine festivals are highly anticipated social gatherings; the attending patrons’ spectate, yet equally react amongst family and friends in ‘collective effervescence’. This research shall investigate the patrons’ enacted ‘patterns of consumption’ and their ‘display of trust’ towards the wine producers in the ‘wine festivals’. The methods of research involved required extensive ‘participant observation’. Ethnographic data was gathered, via conversations with the attending patrons at the wine festivals, and elsewhere amongst wine aficionados. Research conclusions are extracted from the enacted ‘cultural elements’, embedded in the wine festivals. Notions of consumption and trust (as displayed by the patrons) are highly regarded by the wine producers, since these festivities help establish their position within the free market (through the production of quality goods). The wine producers attain their patrons’ trust, via their efforts in keeping to their promises in providing their distinguished guests: ‘fine cuisine and quality wines’, and in their choice of ‘the Performative Arts’.