The North Carolina (NC) wine industry has grown rapidly over the past decade and is expected to grow even more as the worldwide wine consumption and export of wines rises. In the United States, the wine market has grown by 13.7 percent since 2002 in volume and by more than 15 percent in dollars...

Several variables are tested as they relate to a manufacturer's vertical integration into direct marketing in the export channel, and, more generally, to the exclusion of the middleman by the manufacturer. The framework of the political economy of the distribution channel is used. The results of...