Members of AAWE are economists from around the world -- in academia, business, government, and research.
Benefits of Individual Membership include an individual subscription to the Journal of Wine Economics and member rates on conference participation and journal manuscript submission. AAWE also extends Institutional Membership to academic institutions, business firms, and other organizations who share AAWE's objectives and wish to provide special opportunities for their economists to participate in AAWE's activities.
06/24/2026
German POWs in U.S. Vineyards. In 1944, Will Widmer contracted with the U.S. War Department to establish a prisoner-of-war camp near Widmer Winery in Naples, NY (Finger Lakes). Up to 800 German POWs worked in the vineyards and as "cellar rats." Many German and Italian POWs later stayed in the U.S.
06/24/2026
The last three decades have seen a dramatic change in the composition of Italy’s exports. Sparkling wine (mainly Prosecco) has been substituting bulk wine.
In 1994, bulk wine accounted for more than half of Italy’s wine exports. In 2025, bulk’s share was less than 17%. In contrast, the share of sparkling wine grew from a low of 4% in 2000 to 27% today.
06/23/2026
Between 2024 and 2025, Alsace AOP white wine exports fell from €91.2M to €86.6M (−5.1%). Losses in the top markets — Canada (−11.2%), USA (−4.0%), and China (−12.6%) — were only partially offset by gains in Japan (+8.5%) and South Korea (+20.5%). Traditional export strongholds appear to be weakening while emerging markets remain too small to compensate.
06/23/2026
1951 poster for a wine fair in Colmar in Alsace (Haut-Rhin), only a few years after the end of WW2. The poster features Riesling although, at the time, 30% of vineyard area was planted with Chasselas and 27% with Sylvaner. Riesling accounted for just 3%.
06/22/2026
Wine Grape Varieties in Haut-Rhin (Alsace) in 1958 – very different from today. Chasselas accounted for 30%, followed by Sylvaner at 27%. Both have nearly disappeared since then (in 2023: Chasselas 0.7%, Sylvaner 2.7%). Hybrid varieties outnumbered Riesling, which today accounts for 20.8% - just behind Gewürztraminer’s 21.4%.
06/22/2026
Historical document: A 1948 Alsatian wine label as war memorial. During WWII, the village of Bennwihr was virtually wiped off the map in the winter of 1944-45 — only four houses and one monument left standing. As the inscription in the upper right reads: "Village martyre sinistré total 1944." (Totally devastated martyr village, 1944).
06/21/2026
An American self-propelled howitzer "Priest" mm HMC in position overlooking vineyards in Ribeauville, Alsace, France. December 1944
06/21/2026
JOURNAL OF WINE ECONOMICS: “A structural break analysis of Wine Spectator’s Top 100, 1988–2025” by Omer Gokcekus. Open access:
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/51C6A772384C405B280A8BBEFE9760D9/S1931436126101163a.pdf/a-structural-break-analysis-of-wine-spectators-top-100-1988-2025.pdf
06/21/2026
Wine Grape Varieties in Alsace, 2023. Riesling is #1 and Sylvaner only #7, which has not always been the case.
06/20/2026
JOURNAL OF WINE ECONOMICS, BOOK REVIEW:
Dan Keeling: “Who’s Afraid of Romanée-Conti? A Shortcut to Drinking Great Wines.” Reviewed by Andrew J. Plantinga. Open access:https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/421972A10C752E01BAEFBD2F264747C0/S1931436125000094a.pdf/dan-keeling-whos-afraid-of-romanee-conti-a-shortcut-to-drinking-great-wines-quadrille-2024-287-pp-isbn-978-1-78713-988-6-hardcover-dollar4500.pdf