Climate change adaptation preferences of winemakers from the Rioja wine appellation

Abstract

This paper uses a discrete choice experiment to elicit winemakers' preferences towards climate change adaptation options in the Spanish Rioja region. The experiment includes different potential adaptation strategies such as relocation, the use of various grape clones, the installation of an irrigation system, the construction of vegetative or artificial structures to shade the vines, and oenological adaptations. The results show that the most widely accepted strategy is the installation of irrigation and shading structures. In contrast, the least accepted strategy is relocating, which is a costly and long-term solution. The monetary measures obtained are useful for policymakers because they show how much financial assistance will be required to adapt to climate change and maintain the high-quality wine production of the region. We also investigate the precision that can be expected from choice models with small samples through a simulation study, demonstrating the possibility of recovering true parameter values with small sample sizes using a specific experimental design tailored to the attributes and levels of the study.