New Wines in New Bottles: The “Renaissance” of the Italian Wine Industry

Unexpected events such as crises challenge organizations and actors who must search for solutions and alternatives. Severe crises can be fatal, especially when they affect entire industries. The ability to identify a viable course to address contingencies brought about by a crisis is critical to determining outcomes. In this paper, we examine the systemic response to a crisis at different levels within an industry in order to obtain a better understanding of industry responses to crises. Through a historical case study of the Italian wine industry renaissance, we show how a sudden and devastating crisis was circumvented to spur a renewed industry imbued with better practices and knowledge. Our findings also show the key role of preconditions in sustaining the renaissance.