Ecosystem services related to biodiversity, including cultural services such as landscape aesthetics, are essential for agricultural production such as viticulture.

The European research BiodivERsA project VineDivers aims at linking ecosystem services and vine production, in an integrative approach including both landscape structure and cultural practices (cover-crops versus bare soils), in vineyards of Austria, France, Romania and Spain.

In this study, we investigated if landscape complexity and soil management practices (1) provide cultural ecosystem services and (2) influence people willingness to buy wine, comparing the obtained results between the four countries.

We implemented a questionnaire based on photographs about biodiversity perception and visual aesthetic evaluation in each country. Each questionnaire used representative pictures of the respective studied area. Inhabitants of the studied areas, including local winegrowers, as well as visitors were asked to answer our questions.

While differences can be observed between the countries, overall, our results highlighted the effect of landscape complexity and soil management intensity on cultural ecosystem services provision. This allows us to discuss the global importance of biodiversity for wine-producing regions on both cultural and economic perspectives.

As consumers are more and more aware of ecological issues in viticulture, cultural ecosystem services associated with environmentally-friendly wine production could be an economic and social asset for rural regions.