Co-ops and Collectives: Resources for small producers
I very much enjoy the stories of smaller producers--they have a certain romanticism. Their smaller scale and personal stories allow us to relate on a deeper level. Maryland, along with much of the United States, has a relatively short history when it comes to winemaking. Battling disease, European varieties couldn’t get a hold in the U.S., which forced many winemakers to attempt wine from native grape varieties, many of which weren’t highly desirable. Shortly after the disease solution was discovered and Vitis Vinifera was being grown again in the U.S., Prohibition pushed that progress backward. Much of the wine business here in Maryland didn’t begin until after the 1940s. To make wine at scale, initial investment is very expensive. Land, wine presses, fermentation vessels, oak barrels, pumps, filtration systems, temperature control--all this combined is very expensive. However, throughout history, people have employed cost-mitigating options to create wine. Maybe it’s the intentional community spirit behind them that fuels my appreciation for these options. I’ll explain them next, focusing on what’s available in Maryland.
Cooperatives
Cooperatives can be found all over the winemaking world. Assortments of farmers contract together, combining their grape yields to make wines. In Southern Maryland, a group of 12 farms have done just that. The Southern Maryland Wine Growers Cooperative, SMWGC, is the source of grapes that make up Port of Leonardtown Winery. In essence, the winemaker, Lauren Zimmerman, currently has 12 bosses! Each of the vineyard owners are partial owners in the cooperative. This allows them to create safeguards within their community to ensure product standards and profit. Rather than 12 farms trying to navigate selling their grapes to other wineries that may or may not buy, or purchasing all the winemaking equipment to make a label themselves, they are able to combine all their grapes to make wine under the unified label.
There are additional perks to this system. The 12 vineyards are scattered throughout the region: St. Mary’s County, Calvert County, Charles County, and Kent County. Although this means the winemaker must drive a lot, this also means that there are terroir differences. My understanding is that Lauren vinifies each plot separately, allowing her to maximize the qualities unique to a site.
Collectives
Two unique Maryland winemaking facilities have popped up in the last five years. Perhaps this is due to the growing industry, or perhaps due to forward-thinking people that have been in the wine industry in areas outside of the region. These facilities are The Wine Collective in Baltimore, and The Crossvines, a new winery and resort just outside DC. Each of these places provides opportunities for small and ambitious winemakers just getting started. I’ll break down the differences and explain each, along with some of the advantages that come with each place.
The Wine Collective
I’ve heard the term ‘wine collective’ used interchangeably with ‘custom crush house.' As mentioned earlier, equipment is expensive, especially 'top of the line' equipment. Custom crush houses exist as production facilities for wineries that either don’t have or don’t want one. The Wine Collective owns the equipment, and wineries trust the winemaker, John Levenberg, to facilitate the crushing, fermenting, and in some cases, aging and bottling. Some wineries have taken advantage of this as a means to make wine and build capital over time and, eventually, build their own production facility. Others have chosen to simply not have their own production facility and continue to utilize The Wine Collective. What I like most is that the flexibility is there for however one wants to operate.
Additionally, John does make his own wine under The Wine Collective label. They are quite excellent. Full disclosure: I work there part-time, but I only give my honest opinion about wines on this blog!
The Crossvines
An alternative to a custom crush house is an alternating proprietor facility. This is where the winemaking facility doesn’t employ a winemaker, instead allowing the enterprising winemaker to rent the facility and do everything themselves. This is how The Crossvines is set up. They are new this year and I haven’t heard of who, if anyone, has taken them up on using their facility.
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