Abstract

This article discusses the decision-making process of Wine Producers Association of Altos Montes, at Serra Gaúcha/Rio Grande do Sul/Brazil (APROMONTES) winegrowers and winemakers, in their process of adopting innovations to increase their competitiveness. To do that, we used the Prospect Theory. Data collection was conducted through interviews with 12 wineries, 25 winegrowers of APROMONTES wineries, and, as witnesses, seven winegrowers, members of the Rural Labor Union (STR), from Flores da Cunha, Rio Grande do Sul/Brazil. The results point to the fact that both the wineries and winegrowers support their decisions on heuristics of judgment, and, wine producers use mainly the affect, representative, anchoring and adjustment heuristics, while the wineries used representative and affect heuristics. In this perspective, we identified winegrowers as "affective decision makers" whose decisions are based primarily on emotional aspects. On the other hand, the wine makers as "copier decision makers" whose decisions are supported primarily by observing the decisions of other wine producers: The practice of overflow.

Key words: Decisions, judgment heuristics, wine production sector.