Introduction
Considering the rapidly developing pace of globalization, it is important to note that plenty of industries tend to be engaged with global issues. In particular, economic tendencies, climate changes, and some other factors affect many of them. Argentina’s wine industry is also presented by such global connections as farming challenges, tourism, and economic events that are to be discussed in this paper.
Farming Challenges
Nowadays, organizations and industries strive to provide high-quality products and services as a powerful way to meet and anticipate customers’ expectations. Not all of the changing quality regimes are effective to accomplish the above goal. Specifically, Fair Trade wine policy based on regulation theory was introduced in Argentina to ensure the socio-economic sustainability of the wine industry. As argued by Staricco and Ponte (2015), Fait Trade Foundation is a global organization trying to reinforce the very notion of quality in terms of price, ecology, social issues, and fair farming in developing countries.
It is especially critical to support the mentioned issues in developing regions since farming is their pivotal area of development. In Argentina, wine producers are divided into those who produce fine wine for a higher price and those who produce table wine. The Fair Trade aimed at supporting the vulnerable population actually helps the former group, thus deteriorating the position of the latter. Staricco and Ponte (2015) claim that there is a shift “towards a new and hegemonic regime of accumulation” in Argentina’s wine industry. In other words, the county’s wine producers encounter challenges in farming sue to the failure of policy and the inability to implement Fair Trade principles in an appropriate manner. A similar situation may be observed in some other countries such as Chile and South Africa.
Tourism
Amenity-led development and tourism compose another global connection of the wine industry in Argentina. In his scholarly study, Rainer (2016) explores a socio-ecologic restructuring of tourism that is also characteristic of the rest of the world. Namely, the author focuses on the Salta Wine Route as a potential overview area by tourists who are excited to visit the local wineries and natural settings.
The exotic gastronomic tours around the world grow more and more popularity due to their uniqueness. The Salta Wine Route involves mountains and hills for those who admire good wine and nature. Such natural diversity causes exciting wine tourism with different routes that are convenient to combine with a holiday or walks in the countryside. During the trips, tourists may get acquainted with the country’s wine list, enjoy the rural landscapes of wine-producing areas, visit farms, and even take part in agricultural works (for example, in vine pruning or grape harvesting).
It is also possible to learn the culture, technology, and touch the centuries-old tradition of producing famous Argentinean wines. During the tours, one can visit the thematic wine festivals, folk festivals, and local cultural attractions. Wine tourism today is so developed and popular that even there are specialized luxury wine hotels, wine spa complexes, and modern winemakers resort to the services of the most prestigious architects to create an exquisite image of the culture of wine-producing.
In spite of the great opportunities offered by wine tourism, some challenges should also be noted. For instance, Rainer (2016) distinguishes socio-ecological inequalities in the given field. There are concerns regarding environmental protection and landscape aesthetics that may be damaged by tourists. The author also emphasizes the biased attitude towards living conditions and access to resources compared to the Global North. Even though tourism gains popularity in the Global South, this geographical area seems to be uneven and underestimated. The author then declares the necessity of further research to resolve the identified problem.
Economic Events
Likewise, in many other countries, Argentina is affected by the economic events that make an adverse impact on its wine industry. The recent report by Williams (2015) states that many wine producers have to seek the governmental assistance to maintain their businesses. At the same time, they try to struggle against “rampant inflation, challenging exchange rates and slowing exports” (Williams, 2015, para. 1).
It seems essential to point out the fact that due to a lack of support from the government, wine producers have to incur significant losses and come up with some challenging solutions (Morrison & Rabellotti, 2017). For example, some of them move to other industries, which are more likely to be beneficial in Argentina. In other words, this dimension of the global connections shows that economic events impact Argentina’s wine industry as well, thus leading to difficulties in its development.
Conclusion
In conclusion, one should emphasize that Argentina’s wine industry is significantly affected by the worldwide issues and tied with global connections. The review of the recent literature revealed that there are economic events, farming challenges, and tourism tendencies that connect Argentina’s wine industry to the worldwide issues. Taking into account that the mentioned country is developing one, it is possible to state that globalization processes integrate not only developed but also developing countries.
References
Morrison, A., & Rabellotti, R. (2017). Gradual catch up and enduring leadership in the global wine industry. Research Policy, 46(2), 417-430. Web.
Rainer, G. (2016). Constructing globalized spaces of tourism and leisure: Political ecologies of the Salta Wine Route (NW-Argentina). Journal of Rural Studies, 43, 104-117. Web.
Staricco, J. I., & Ponte, S. (2015). Quality regimes in agro-food industries: A regulation theory reading of Fair Trade wine in Argentina. Journal of Rural Studies, 38, 65-76. Web.
Williams, D. (2017). Argentina’s wine growers need you. The Guardian. Web.