Radical innovation in luxury carmenere wine from Chile

Radical innovation from emerging wine regions, especially in quality and luxury production, is under-researched. This article addresses this gap and makes methodological and substantive contributions. This is the first study of luxury wines from Chile. It examines, among other factors, the contribution of foreign influence to opportunity recognition and exploitation, and the determinants of the speed at which national companies start playing roles initially played by foreigners. Results from several research methods (X2 tests, binary probit, ordered probit, censored and truncated regressions) are compared. Not all the results are robust. Significant roles are confirmed for foreign influence, the long-term presence of a senior expert winemaker and, (‘perversely’), successful participation in international competitions, but not for other, often mentioned factors. Other conclusions refer to the gradual decline of the foreign role, winemaker migration between employers, and unusual pricing strategies. Results from any individual research method should be checked against other methods and periods, including non-econometric methods. We study luxury wine (US 50 dollars plus per bottle) from Chile, but the findings are relevant to other wine regions