A toast to emerging terroir: exploring consumer attitudes toward local wine in Ukraine Oleksandra Hanchukova and Natalia Velikova Department of Hospitality and Retail Management, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, USA, and Olena Motuzenko Department of Geography of Ukraine, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine Abstract Purpose – This paper aims to explore the emerging wine market of Ukraine. Specifically, the study examines Ukrainian consumer attitudes toward local wines and provides profiles of various groups of local wine consumers. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected via an online survey of Ukrainian wine consumers (N ¼ 325). Factor and cluster analyses were performed to assess general attitudes toward local wine. Descriptive statistics and analyses of differences (t-tests and chi-square tests) were also used for further data exploration. Findings – The findings indicate that quality perceptions, price sensitivity and reputation play a vital role in shaping local consumers’ attitudes toward Ukrainian wine. Three distinct consumer segments were identified. Local Skeptics exhibit reserved opinions about local wine. Local ambassadors show the highest level of enthusiasm and support for local wines. Local non-connoisseurs are the least involved and knowledgeable about wine; thus, their opinions about the local wine industry are not formed yet. This is the group that merits the utmost attention from wine marketers. Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first research attempt to identify different types of wine consumers based on their attitudes and perceptions toward local wines in Ukraine. Keywords Emerging markets, Market segmentation, Ukraine, Wine Paper type Research paper Introduction Lately, academic and trade articles on wine have turned their attention to markets that are not considered traditional wine regions. An overview of manuscripts published in the International Journal of Wine Business Research within the past five years (2017–2022) showed that almost a quarter of the published papers are focused on emerging wine markets, including Brazil (20%), India (15.6%), Mexico (8.9%) as well as Hungary, Croatia, Georgia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic and others. These nontraditional markets are often referred to as “emerging”. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is no established definition of an emerging wine market. Some authors emphasized the overall attributes of emerging markets, like volatility with transitions occurring in economic, political and social dimensions ( Mody, 2004). Others follow the International Monetary Fund classi fication and refer to emerging economies as emerging markets, or use selected criteria, such as a rate Local wine in Ukraine 141 Received 24 May 2023 Revised 22 November 2023 Accepted 3 January 2024 International Journal of Wine Business Research Vol. 36 No. 1, 2024 pp. 141-159 © Emerald Publishing Limited 1751-1062 DOI 10.1108/IJWBR-05-2023-0030 The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/1751-1062.htm