Continuity and Variety: The Allocation of Symbolic Rewards in Elite Italian Winemaking

The authors investigate how innovative cultural products are rewarded by considering a producer's structural network position, conformity to innovation norms for production and assessment, and the extent to which gatekeepers recognize variety or continuity. They empirically test their arguments in the field of elite Italian winemaking, which is characterized by a semi-independent reward system. In this field, critics, who serve as gatekeepers, allocate symbolic rewards to socially recognize producers' work. An analysis of the awards received by 287 winemakers between 2001 and 2005 reveals both convergence towards innovation norms (i.e., continuity) and openness to innovative products that deviate from norms (i.e., variety) within the same reward system. The authors discuss the empirical evidence in light of both reward system theory and elite Italian winemaking as a cultural field.