The Role of Research Institutes in the Development Processes of Taiwan’s Fruit Wine Industry

During the Japanese colonization period, the government had implemented Tobacco and Wine Monopoly over eighty years. In this context, knowledge and skills related to wine-making were mostly out of the reach of civilians. After 2000, to revive rural economy, Taiwan’s state commissioned some researchers and research institutes to help develop Taiwan’s local wine industry. In this thesis, I examine the role of research institutes in the development processes of Taiwan’s wine industry, particularly focusing on studying how these research institutes stimulated and facilitated the building of wine-making technologies in fruit wine sector.

Due to the lack of skills and experiences in wine-making, researchers faced many challenges and difficulties. However, my study finds that they have accumulated and enhanced their professional capabilities through learning by doing and trial and error. They also exploited their existing academic resources and networks to tackle issues related to wine-making. Furthermore, interaction with local practitioners was also critical sources of knowledge for these researchers.

According to this study, in the development processes of Taiwan’s fruit wine industry, the researchers played different roles, including industry leaders, technology communicators, government policy endorsers and salespersons. Besides, by adopting the concept of triple helix, this study also demonstrates the interaction among researchers, industry, and government in making possible the emergence of a new industry.