Promoting Healthier Drinking: Evidence From a Vignette Experiment on Contextual and Informational Drivers of Dealcoholized Wine Choices

ABSTRACT

Growing demand for healthier beverages is driving innovation in the wine sector, with dealcoholized wine emerging as a promising alternative. However, little is known about the contextual conditions under which consumers would choose dealcoholized wine, particularly in countries with strong wine traditions. To fill this gap, this work examines how situational factors and information treatments influence consumers' willingness to switch from traditional to dealcoholized wine in Italy and Croatia, two countries with different wine consumption traditions. Using a vignette‐based experiment administered to 1600 wine consumers, this study analyses how consumption context and product information affect the likelihood of choosing dealcoholized wine over conventional alternatives. The results show that, although conventional wine remains the preferred option under standard conditions, the likelihood of switching to dealcoholized wine increases when a driving constraint is introduced. Informational treatments significantly affect choices in Italy, whereas Croatian consumers appear to respond more to functional constraints than to calorie or health messages. The findings have implications for producers and policymakers seeking to promote dealcoholized wines.