Why Use Contracts in Viticulture?

摘要

The use of contracts to coordinate the relationship between a grape grower and a winery has become common practice in DOC Rioja. In this paper, the role and the characteristics of contracts in coordinating the supply of grapes between independent wine grape growers and wineries in DOC Rioja is examined. A review of existing theories on contractual choice in the wine industry indicates that although contracts are important to facilitate the coordination of the relationship, they are subject to a number of problems such as the measurement of grape quality. Finally, we distil the main lessons of this research and present them as advice for wineries and grape growers designing contracts.