Abstract:

Purpose - The aim of this paper is to investigate if the reputation of the country of origin of the wine influences the opinions of the consumers and the purchase decision. Design/methodology/approach -statistical analyze and econometric methods, using SPSS, frequency distributions, factor analysis, ANOVA, linear regression; critical assessment of literature review; quantitative methods: 214 questionnaires. Findings - There is a strong correlation between the country of origin of the wine and the perceived quality of the wine for consumers, winemakers and Masters of wine; the country of origin cues become more important than the wine cues  in the purchase decision. Practical implications - finding different correlations for consumers’ opinions, buying attitudes and purchase decisions. Originality/value - using Romanian and international wine consumers in a real buying situation; the opinions of Romanian winemakers and of international Masters of wine is an added value due to their expertise. Limitations – number of respondents is limited.