What questions would you ask the researcher to determine possible limitations of the findings? Abel D. Alonso, Edith Cowan University, Western Australia The world-wide wine tourism phenomenon has gained in popularity in New Zealand as an additional activity for those travelling to rural areas, which is where most wineries are located.

Wine tourism includes visiting wineries (O’Neill, Palmer, Charters & Fitz, 2001), cellar doors

(Cambourne, 1998), or tasting the wine product (O’Neill, Palmer & Charters, 2002), often in combination with food offered at the winery. Some studies suggest that wine tourism provides an additional travel motivation (Macionis & Cambourne, 1998), while others see it as a critical aspect of the travel experience (Jago, Issaverdis & Graham, 2000).

Today, New Zealand has over 500 wineries (Wine Institute New Zealand, 2006), which are located in ten main wine regions. Efforts that include organising wine festivals and creating internet websites have been undertaken both nationally and regionally to enhance and market the appeal of the wine regions (see, for example, www.wine-marlborough.co.nz/). Recent international success of several New Zealand wines (Foodworks, 2006a, 2006b) has helped boost the reputation of the nation’s wine industry.