The wine cluster: distinctive traits and critical actors in this peculiar local system

The expression “cluster” is meant to emphasize few differences from the traditional approaches to local systems proposed by the economic literature (rural districts, filiera studies, industry analysis, analyses of single case histories, etc.). Indeed useful, each of these approaches is able to identify only few aspects and dynamics of the considered systems. In order to work out an interpretative framework that lets us investigate the wine cluster, we adopt a multi-disciplinary approach that lets us identify a cluster as a synthesis of three distinct units of analysis: • the rural system defined according to an entrepreneurial/relational interpretative model; • the single critical actors operating in this particular local system (businesses and non-business); • the organizational structures created in order to facilitate the business development (networks of relations along the wine value chain) and the type of links with related and supporting industries (tourism, handcrafts, machineries, other productions and related services, etc.).