Exploring Sustainable Innovation in the Wine Industry. A Dual Focus on Production and Tourism

This study seeks to expand the knowledge of sustainable innovation by examining how it can be designed in the specific context of the wine industry. The focus is on the Arrighi winery, located on the island of Elba (Italy), known for its innovative practice of underwater aging grapes. Based on this winery, the research employs a qualitative methodology, centering on an in-depth case study analysis with semi-structured interviews. Primary data was integrated with secondary sources and subsequently analyzed using the Gioia methodology. The results show that sustainable innovation is designed through the consideration of four dimensions: social, economic, environmental, and climate change mitigation, which are all implemented in both wine production and wine tourism. Yet, the case of the Arrighi winery shows that sustainable innovation practices are applied more frequently in wine production than in wine tourism, although the latter, now more than ever, plays an essential role for wineries. Indeed, sustainable innovation is beginning to yield only its first results in wine tourism.