A winemaking cooperative is an agricultural cooperative which is involved in winemaking

Winemaking

Winemaking, or vinification, is the production of wine, starting with selection of the grapes or other produce and ending with bottling the finished wine. Although most wine is made from grapes, it may also be made from other fruit or non-toxic plant material...

, and which in similarity to other cooperative

Cooperative

A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...

s is owned by its members. The members in a winemaking cooperative are usually vineyard

Vineyard

A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...

 owners, who deliver grape

Grape

A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...

s to the cooperative, which is involved in production of wine from the grapes and the subsequent marketing

Marketing

Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...

 activities.

Winemaking cooperatives are responsible for a significant proportion of the total wine production in many major wine-producing countries, including most of the classical Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an wine countries, but their importance varies much between different wine regions within these countries. Cooperatives tend to be more important in regions where the wine’s selling price is relatively low and average size of vineyard holdings is small.

While some winemaking cooperatives were established in the 19th century, the majority were established in the early 1930s following the Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

.

Advantages to members

The advantage to members of a cooperative, in comparison to pursuing winemaking and marketing on their own, consists in pooling resources and sharing costs for winemaking and marketing, which call for costly equipment and technical expertise. There are also other financial advantages, including certain European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

 subsidies for cooperatives located in EU countries.

Wines from cooperatives are often allowed to be described as producer-bottled according to the wine law

Wine law

Wine laws are legislation regulating various aspects of production and sales of wine. The purpose of wine laws includes combating wine fraud, by means of regulated protected designations of origin, labelling practices and classification of wine, as well as regulating allowed additives and...

s of the country in question, which is sometimes an advantage in marketing. The French

French wine

French wine is produced in several regions throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France has the world's second-largest total vineyard area, behind Spain, and is in the position of being the world's largest wine producer...

 term corresponding to this is mis(e) en boteille a la proproriété, while the German

German wine

German wine is primarily produced in the west of Germany, along the river Rhine and its tributaries, with the oldest plantations going back to the Roman era. Approximately 60 percent of the German wine production is situated in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, where 6 of the 13 regions ...

 is Erzeugerabfüllung.

Alternatives available to wine-growers

Producing and marketing the wine on his or her own is usually not a realistic possibility for many vineyard owners with small holdings. However, being a member of a winemaking cooperative is not the only option available. Selling grapes on the open market, entering into long-term contracts with negociant

Négociant

A négociant is the French term for a wine merchant who assembles the produce of smaller growers and winemakers and sells the result under its own name....

s or other winemaking companies and leasing out the vineyard to certain negociants are other options. The relative attractiveness of these options vary greatly between regions. As an example, in regions characterised by constant overproduction of wine

Wine lake

The wine lake refers to the continuing supply surplus of wine produced in the European Union. A major contributor to that glut is the Languedoc-Roussillon, which produces over one-third of the grapes grown in France. In 2007 it was reported that for the previous several vintages, European...

, the market price of grapes is often depressed to a very low level, while grapes in Champagne command much higher prices as long as they fulfill some basic criteria.

France

In France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, winemaking cooperatives are typically called caves coopératives, and produce more than half the total amount of French wine. The first winemaking cooperative was established in Alsace

Alsace

Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...

 in 1895, although at this time Alsace was part of the German Empire

German Empire

The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...

 rather than France. Members of French winemaking cooperatives own more than half the total French vineyard surface. The caves have their greatest strength on the Vin de pays

Vin de pays

Vin de pays is a French term meaning "country wine". Vins de pays are a step in the French wine classification which is above the table wine classification, but below the VDQS and Appellation d'origine contrôlée classifications...

 level, where they are responsible for about three-quarter of the production. They have been involved in the large-scale switch over of the French wine production from the lower Vin de table category to Vin de pays. Many cooperatives also produce an impressive range of Appellation d'origine contrôlée

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée

Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...

 (AOC) wine.

The total number of French winemaking cooperatives was over 850 in the early 2000s, with an average membership of 160 per cooperative in the 1990s. Cooperatives are particularly strong in Languedoc

Languedoc wine

Languedoc - Roussillon wine, including the vin de pays labeled Vin de Pays d'Oc, is produced in southern France. While "Languedoc" can refer to a specific historic region of France and Northern Catalonia, usage since the 20th century has primarily referred to the northern part of the...

, Roussillon, Rhône, Provence

Provence wine

Provence wine comes from the French wine-producing region of Provence in southeast France. The Romans called the area nostra provincia , giving the region its name...

 and Corsica

Corsica wine

Corsica wine is wine made on the Mediterranean island of Corsica. Located 90km west of Italy, 170km southeast of France and 11km north of the island of Sardinia, the island is a territorial collectivity of France, but many of the region's winemaking traditions and its grape varieties are Italian in...

. Some of the more notable cooperatives are also found in Alsace

Alsace wine

Alsace wine or Alsatian wine is produced in the Alsace region in France and is primarily white. These wines, which for historical reasons have a strong Germanic influence, are produced under three different Appellations d'Origine Contrôlées : Alsace AOC for white, rosé and red wines, Alsace Grand...

 and Chablis.

Germany

In Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, a winemaking cooperative is often called Winzergenossenschaft, but can also be called Winzerverein, Winzervereinigung, Weingärtnergenossenschaft or Weinbauerverband. The earliest German winemaking cooperatives date back to the time before the later association laws were established. A union of winemakers in Neckarsulm

Neckarsulm

Neckarsulm is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, near Stuttgart, and part of the district Heilbronn. As of 2004, Neckarsulm had 27,296 inhabitants....

 in Württemberg

Württemberg (wine region)

Württemberg is a region for quality wine in Germany, and is located in the historical region of Württemberg in southwestern Germany, which today forms part of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg. Under German wine legislation, Württemberg and Baden are separate wine regions.With under vine in...

 pressed grapes and sold the resulting must, and to some extent also wine, cooperatively as early as 1834. Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

 passed an association law (Genossenschaftsgesetz) in 1867, which became law in the entire North German Confederation

North German Confederation

The North German Confederation 1866–71, was a federation of 22 independent states of northern Germany. It was formed by a constitution accepted by the member states in 1867 and controlled military and foreign policy. It included the new Reichstag, a parliament elected by universal manhood...

 in 1868. One of the first winemaking cooperatives founded on the basis of this legislation, Winzerverein Mayschoß

Mayschoß

Mayschoß is a municipality in the district of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany....

, was established in 1868 in the Ahr

Ahr (wine region)

Ahr is a wine region for quality wine in Germany, and is located in the valley of the river Ahr, a tributary of Rhine, and is situated in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. With only of vines as of 2008, it is one of smaller of Germany's 13 regions...

 region and is the oldest German winemaking cooperative still in existence. Two thirds of all German vine-growers belong to a cooperative, but because of a dominance of small vineyard holdings and part-time vine growing among these members, their production is slightly less than one-third of the German total. In 2008/2009, there were 209 cooperatives in Germany with a total of 51 000 members and 32115 hectares (79,357.8 acre) vineyard surface. There has been a trend to fewer cooperatives (275 existed in 1998/1999) due to fusions.

A special form of winemaking cooperative are the Zentralkellereien, a centralised cooperative found in many German wine regions, where local cooperatives rather than individual growers deliver grapes, grape must or wine. Therefore, of the 209 cooperatives existing in Germany in 2008/2009, only 120 actually produced wine on their own premises.

Cooperatives are particularly important in Württemberg

Württemberg (wine region)

Württemberg is a region for quality wine in Germany, and is located in the historical region of Württemberg in southwestern Germany, which today forms part of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg. Under German wine legislation, Württemberg and Baden are separate wine regions.With under vine in...

, where they account for 80% of the production (2008), Baden

Baden (wine region)

Baden is a region for quality wine in Germany, and is located in the historical region of Baden in southwestern Germany, which today forms part of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg...

, where they account for 76%, and the smallest German wine regions Ahr, Hessische Bergstrasse, Saale-Unstrut and Saxony

Saxony (wine region)

Saxony is a region for quality wine in Germany located in the German federal state of Saxony. The region is sometimes referred to colloquially as the Elbtal . The wine region covers , which makes it Germany's third smallest region, just ahead of Mittelrhein and Hessische Bergstraße in size...

.

Southern Europe

In southern Europe, cooperatives are responsible for a large part of the wine production. Figures of around 60 per cent have been quoted for Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

’s cantina sociale and cooperatives in Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 and Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

. However, in difference from France and Germany, a high proportion of the cooperatives’ wine are not bottled by themselves, but sold in bulk for bottling by commercial operators or, especially in the case of Spain, for distillation

Distillation

Distillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in volatilities of components in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction....

.

Other countries

In South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, KWV

KWV

The Koöperatieve Wijnbouwers Vereniging van Zuid-Afrika Bpkt was a winemaking co-operative founded on 8 January 1918 by wine makers from the Western Cape in South Africa. It was converted from its co-operative status into KWV Ltd on 2 December 2002...

 (Koöperatieve Wijnbouwers Vereniging van Zuid-Afrika) was originally formed as a winemaking cooperative which also had certain regulatory privileges akin to those of a government agency

Government agency

A government or state agency is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an intelligence agency. There is a notable variety of agency types...

. However, in 2002, KWV was transformed into a regular commercial company.