Profitability Determinants in the Wine Industry: the case of Piedmont

Italian wine is synonymous with excellence all over the world. This suggests the potential of this sector to showcase the region of Piedmont and its economy. The aim of this paper is to focus solely on Piedmont’s wine companies, in order to identify the factors impacting on company profitability. Our target is to provide useful elements to help wine producers to expand their business and to direct their strategies. In particular, we have found a positive and significant relation between firm profitability and two variables: export intensity and firm size. In addition, the analysis is expanded to verify whether it is better to apply a sales policy based on price or on quantity. This data should be an incentive to winemakers to expand their businesses abroad and increase their size with mergers and investments.