Orley Ashenfleter, the Joseph Douglas Green 1895 Professor of Economics, was recently included in the Economists in the Wild video series produced by The Marginal Revolution University.  Here's what Orley had to say about his work on the economics of wine:

How did this interview come about, and when was it actually filmed?

The video is part of a series sponsored by Marginal Revolution University, which was organized for this purpose. My video was filmed at the recent American Economic Association meetings in San Diego, and edited by the professionals connected with MRU 

Looking back to when you first worked out these ideas to how things have developed now, what has surprised you the most?

At some point the econometric approach to understanding how and why wines differ, and how to judge them, took on a life of its own. The American Association of Wine Economists was formed, and has had annual meetings all over the world for 15 years, and the Journal of Wine Economics, published by the Association, has been around just as long.

What lessons have you learned about this and your other research that would be helpful for students who may be interested in Economics to know?

The real origin of this research was an undergraduate econometrics course I taught for many decades at Princeton. I wanted a convincing application of regressions analysis--and there it was. I'd say the most important lesson is that striving for credibility in empirical analysis can be rewarding in the long run.