BIO-ENERGY FROM WINERY BY-PRODUCTS: A NEW MULTIFUNCTIONAL TOOL FOR THE ITALIAN WINE DISTRICTS

This paper aims to investigate if the legislation will allow the production of energy from winery by-products and how this can contribute to multifunctionality of the wine makers’ income. A medium size winery was selected and an anaerobic digestor process was simulated using the company’s data. The main methods of financial evaluation were studied to create information to see if the project concepts were valid. The results highlight the positive level of earnings that the project will generate due to the high level of methane included in the pressings that could be transformed in energy, the short period needed for obtaining methane and the recent substantial level of government support both in Green Certificates and financing of the initial cost of the investments.Biomass, winery by-products, multifunctionality, energy, wine district, Agribusiness, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Tourism experiences and wine experiences: a new approach to the analysis of the visitor perceptions for a destination. The case of Verona

• Purpose: This paper discusses a new approach to the analysis of visitor perceptions and experiences in a tourism destination. It aims to propose the discrete choice models application to contribute to the study of the tourism destination, in the perspective of visitor experience. The way through which wine and food contribute to tourism experience is analysed. • Design: The city of Verona has been chosen to reach these objectives. It sums up both tourist attractions, and interests related to food and wine tourism. In this paper, the first methodological steps of a market research analysis are reported. These concern: an exploratory survey through a qualitative on line questionnaire; the building of a quantitative analysis; the experimental design for the discrete choice models. • Findings: The exploratory survey identified seven main themes relevant for visitors: Arena, Romeo and Juliet, Monuments, Landscape, Atmosphere, Wine and Food, and People. They have been implemented in a multidimensional map representing the visitor's reference points and experiences. The characteristics of the tourist destination have been outlined to apply the discrete choice models. A questionnaire has been proposed. • Practical implications: The study structures the experience into its components, to estimate the utility perceived by visitors. The methodological innovation is given by the application of the discrete choice models to the study of tourism experience. The empirical innovation consists in a different marketing perspective for the destination, the tourism businesses and the other local stakeholders. This will contribute to a new branding process of the city

Assessing preferences for mountain wine and viticulture by using a best-worst scaling approach: do mountains really matter for Italians?

European Commission has recently published the rules on the use of the quality term “mountain product”. The new regulation aims to promote the sustainable development of mountain areas and to facilitate the identification of mountain prod- ucts by consumers. Despite the importance of viticulture for several European moun- tain communities and the growing interest of European consumers in quality certified foods, the regulation did not encompass wines. The literature addresses many issues regarding wines and consumer preferences, but so far mountain wines are not specifi- cally researched. With this study, we seek to fill this gap by analysing Italian consum- ers’ preferences for mountain wines as well as their opinion on the inclusion of this product in the mountain labelling scheme. To do so, this study applies a best-worst scaling model and subsequent latent class analysis. Data was collected through an online questionnaire applied to a consumer panel. The results indicate that most of respondents are in favour of applying the mountain label to wines. The three most preferred attributes are related to human health, ecological sustainability and prod- uct typicity. Most of participants gave less importance to the attributes that character- ize mountain agriculture. Only one consumer segment valued some of these. Findings suggest that the inclusion of mountain wines in the labelling scheme may convey a bet- ter image of wine regarding its impact on human health, environmental sustainability and terroir-based typicity

Estimating preferences for controlling beach erosion in Sicily

This study applied discrete-choice experiments to estimate preferences for a program aimed at reducing the retreatment of the sandy beach at “Lido di Noto”, a renowned Sicilian bathing resort close to Noto (Italy). Econometric analysis of data was based on Multinomial Logit (MNL), Latent Class (LC) and Mixed Logit (MXL) models. Findings shown that users appreciated the advancement of the current coastline through nourishment, and negatively perceived the construction of emerged sea barriers. MXL and LC models revealed that preferences were heterogeneous

Combined Forward-Backward Asymmetry Measurements in Top-Antitop Quark Production at the Tevatron

The CDF and D0 experiments at the Fermilab Tevatron have measured the asymmetry between yields of forward- and backward-produced top and antitop quarks based on their rapidity difference and the asymmetry between their decay leptons. These measurements use the full data sets collected in proton-antiproton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt s =1.96$ TeV. We report the results of combinations of the inclusive asymmetries and their differential dependencies on relevant kinematic quantities. The combined inclusive asymmetry is $A_{\mathrm{FB}}^{t\bar{t}} = 0.128 \pm 0.025$. The combined inclusive and differential asymmetries are consistent with recent standard model predictions

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements