Alcohol‑Free Wine Adoption in a Mediterranean Island Context: fsQCA Evidence from Crete

The steady decline in traditional wine consumption, together with the growing demand for alcohol-free alternatives, is driving significant changes across wine value chains—particularly in Mediterranean countries, where wine holds deep cultural significance. This study examines Cretan consumers’ willingness to try alcohol-free wines when such willingness is shaped by current market trends. It identifies combinations of personal characteristics, health-related motivations, price sensitivity, and prior experience with alcohol-free products. Using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), the findings reveal multiple sufficient configurations that account for both high and low willingness to try alcohol-free wines, demonstrating equifinality and causal asymmetry. Health emerges as a universal factor present in all configurations associated with higher willingness, while prior experience plays a central role in the configurations with the greatest coverage, suggesting that familiarity with alcohol-free products further encourages adoption. The results also highlight several consumer archetypes: rational, health-oriented profiles; younger, price-sensitive consumers; and a group of highly educated senior women for whom prior experience outweighs price considerations. These insights offer valuable guidance for wine value chain stakeholders seeking to adapt their strategies to evolving consumption patterns amid shifting drinking habits. These findings also offer policy‑relevant insights, highlighting the need for public support in technological innovation, consumer education, and value‑chain diversification to facilitate the adoption of alcohol‑free wines in Mediterranean markets.