Although it is very difficult to find any research that has been devoted to establish the value of wine education courses on consumers, gatekeepers are pinning a lot of hope on wine education to create or restore value. The purpose of this research was to investigate if wine courses lead to any changes in perception, consumption pattern and modify the consumer’s degree of involvement for the category.
We compared results of the same survey filled in twice by new wine course students in Montreal, Québec, Canada: prior to their first class and at the end of the course five weeks later; followed up by two questionnaires after three and twenty-four months. All survey questions were assessed in a five-point Likert type scale and the outcomes were statistically treated using t-student test.
The results obtained imply that the perceptions, behavior and commitment towards the category changes after having followed a wine course. An economic value was created for the proponent of the courses (the retailer) as the majority of students declared spending more afterwards. In addition, value was also created for the students as they declare an increase in involvement, a sense of empowerment, an increase in frequency of usage of the product but not in the intensity.