Vol.: (0123456789) 1 3 Org. Agr. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13165-023-00425-6 Drivers of consumer willingness to pay for sustainable wines: natural, biodynamic, and organic Riccardo Vecchio · Azzurra Annunziata · Eva Parga Dans · Pablo Alonso González Received: 9 June 2022 / Accepted: 31 January 2023 © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2023 Abstract This study analysed consumers’ willing- ness to pay (WTP) for wines with diferent sustain- ability features, namely natural, biodynamic, and organic, and explored the drivers of individual pref- erences for these wines. An online survey was con- ducted with a sample of 501 Italian regular wine consumers. To elicit WTP for natural, organic, and biodynamic wines, a multiple price list (MPL) was applied. The drivers of consumers’ preferences for the three wines were then investigated by means of a seemingly unrelated regression model (SUR). Results reveal a higher WTP for organic, followed by natural and biodynamic wines. The same core drivers of indi- vidual preferences were revealed for the three wine types: wine drinking frequency, naturalness percep- tion, and wine health concerns. Wineries interested in commercialising sustainable wines should develop targeted communication campaigns to increase con- sumer awareness and understanding of the diferent sustainable production methods. Keywords Multiple price list · Wine consumers · Italy · Sustainable wines Introduction Over the last few decades, consumers have become increasingly aware of the environmental impacts of conventional agriculture, leading individuals towards more responsible food choices and greater considera- tion of attributes favouring sustainability of the pro- duction system. Concurrently at EU level, the Euro- pean Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy aim to accelerate the transition toward a sustainable food system by promoting environmentally friendly prac- tices. Particular attention is devoted to organic farm- ing, with the ambitious aim to have at least 25% of EU agricultural land under organic farming by 2030 (European Commission 2019; 2020). Environmental issues are particularly important for the wine industry, as viticulture and wine pro- duction have a strong link with the sustainability of [EconLit citations: Q11; Q13]. R. Vecchio  Department of Agricultural Science, University of Naples Federico II (Italy), Via Università, 100, 80055 Portici, Naples, Italy e-mail: riccardo.vecchio@unina.it A. Annunziata (*)  Department of Economic and Legal Studies, University of Naples “Parthenope” (Italy), Via Parisi, 13, 80133 Naples, Italy e-mail: azzurra.annunziata@uniparthenope.it E. Parga Dans · P. Alonso González  Instituto de Productos Naturales y Agrobiología (IPNA- CSIC), Avda. Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez, 3, La Laguna, 38206 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain e-mail: eva.parga.dans@ipna.csic.es P. Alonso González  e-mail: pablo.alonso.gonzalez@ipna.csic.es