Communicating Wine Agri-Tourism Identity Through Instagram: A Visual Analysis of South African Wine Farms

Wine agri-tourism has expanded the role of wine farms beyond wine production to include hospitality, landscape, heritage and farm-based experiences. However, limited attention has been given to how wine farms visually communicate this wider agri-tourism identity through brand-managed Instagram images. This study therefore examines how selected South African wine farms visually communicate agri-tourism brand identity through brand-managed Instagram images. A qualitative visual content analysis was performed on 153 publicly available still images shared by four South African wine-farm accounts throughout the January–April 2025 harvest period. Employing a theory-based coding framework, each photograph was examined through six visual identity themes: place and landscape; wine, farm product and craft; hospitality and visitor experience; heritage and culture; lifestyle and aspiration; and farm authenticity and agricultural practice. The findings indicate that communication on Instagram was primarily influenced by hospitality and visitor experience identity, followed by wine, farm product, and craft identity. Images of place, heritage, lifestyle, and authentic farming emerged less often as primary themes but contributed additional layers of identity. The results show that certain South African wine farms utilise Instagram not only for promoting wine products, but also to establish themselves as experiential agri-tourism destinations. However, the authenticity of agricultural practices and working farms was less emphasised. The research adds to the literature on wine agri-tourism, brand identity, and destination marketing by demonstrating how Instagram images function as projected visual-identity material.