Ask a Sommelier: What Is a Wine Co-Op?

Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte, Produttori del Barbaresco, Cavit, Tramin. There are plenty of massive names out there in the wine world, but what connects these specific labels is something unique — none of them are independent houses. Rather than producing wines from fruit grown on their own estates or specifically sourced for their bottles, these wineries produce wine cooperatively, resulting in bottles known as co-op wines.

Considering cooperative wineries are not very commonplace in the United States, it might come as a shock to learn that a decent chunk of the world’s wines are produced in such a fashion. In certain European regions, it’s actually the most popular way to make wine. In Italy’s Alto Adige, for example, 70 percent of total wine production comes from cooperative wineries.

What exactly does it mean if a wine is referred to as a “co-op wine,” though? And how does the cooperative winery process even work? To find out, VinePair spoke with Alexandria Sarovich, founder of Healdsburg, Calif.’s Own Rooted Hospitality and VinePair’s 2023 Next Wave Awards Sommelier of the Year.

“In general, a co-op wine is a wine that is made using a blend of fruit grown by different growers,” Sarovich explains. “These growers all submit their grapes from a specific region to one central place. That central place then makes wine using the grapes, and the growers are paid for their fruit.”

While this might sound similar to a winery purchasing grapes from growers to blend into their own juice, the practice is entirely different. Rather than being owned by one central entity, wine co-ops tend to be jointly owned by the winegrowers themselves, which allows them to not just pool resources, but also collectively market the wine and share information among themselves.

The model is especially common in European countries like France, Italy, and Spain, where over half of all wine produced comes from cooperatives. Over the course of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many growers in these countries struggled to stay afloat as devastation from phylloxera and two world wars shrunk the size of many vineyards. Without enough fruit, expertise, or financial resources to make a reliable wine label, banding together was the path forward for growers to stay in business.

“Oftentimes, European families are farming the vines themselves, and they have been for decades. They’re tending to these vines throughout the year, and they’re harvesting themselves before bringing it to the cooperative,” Sarovich says. “There’s this sense of pride that comes from the fruit of your land, and they trust the cooperative to make something good with it.”

Sarovich explains that the majority of the plots these farmers have in their possession are very small, with some measuring just over half an acre. With vineyards that size, it simply wouldn’t make sense for these growers to try their hand at making their own wine, not when the financial risks are too great.

“Winemaking equipment is incredibly expensive and many of these growers simply don’t want to risk it. They would much rather be a part of a reputable cooperative and see a beautiful product made without possibly losing finances,” she says. “Sometimes, the economics just don’t add up for someone who is only capable of making a very small amount of wine.”

As a large percentage of the world’s cooperatively produced wines come from higher-production regions like Languedoc-Roussillon, Sarovich explains that they can sometimes come with an unfair reputation. Considering these regions don’t have much of a fine-wine presence, these co-op wines are often judged as being lesser quality than those coming from independent houses. But Sarovich is quick to dispel this largely outdated belief.

“There are some seriously world-class cooperatives out there,” she says. “In the past 15 to 20 years, there has been a ton of education surrounding co-ops and how just because some wines are cooperatively produced, it doesn’t mean their quality is any lesser. Most cooperatives have very strict standards in place.”

As an example, she points to Cave de Ribeauvillé in Alsace, France, which is one of the top five largest producers in the region. At Cave de Ribeauvillé, Sarovich explains that growers who farm organically are paid slightly more than growers who do not, which encourages everyone to improve farming practices in pursuit of higher-quality wine.

“Its a powerful thing happening around organic farming that increases the quality of fruit and it helps the entire community,” she argues. “The better the grapes, the better the co-op, and thus the more you can fetch for a wine. That, in turn, betters the entire economy in that specific region.”

Despite their historical importance and continued relevancy in Europe, cooperatives are not much of a thing here in the U.S., with the closest comparison coming in the form of collectives, custom crush facilities, or incubator projects.

“In the U.S., oftentimes those that are getting into the wine industry come from a different career where they’ve saved up the funds to invest in a winery themselves,” Sarovich explains. “Because of that, I’m not sure I would really be able to name an official co-op in America, which is a shame, because it would probably be good for us.”

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