Natural Wine: An Evaluation using the Price Sensitivity Meter and Contingent Valuation

Natural wines have garnered increasing attention from health-conscious and environmentally aware consumers, thereby carving out a distinct niche within the broader wine market. This study adopts the Contingent Valuation method and the Van Westendorp Price Sensitivity Meter to explore consumer willingness to pay and the acceptable price range for natural wine (hereinafter: NW), verify the convergence of results, and investigate which consumer attributes influence the economic appreciation for this beverage. An online survey was conducted on a sample of 370 Italian wine enthusiasts and experts. The results indicate a reasonable level of consumer awareness of the economic value of the NW, despite their willingness to pay a lower price for this beverage. Age, individuals’ income status and product market price have a positive impact on the willingness to pay for NW. Conversely, the effects of the level of education, naturalness attitude, and wine consumption habits are not significant. The results could support the efforts of the wineries to develop adequate pricing strategies for gaining a competitive advantage and expanding their market share.