Wine is Not That Simple (5): Industrial wines

The evolution of wine is a metaphor for economic development. But, as Pasolini argued, development does not necessarily mean progress. The next evolution, in fact, is that of the industrialization of wine, which is nothing more than the standardization of production and a total break with tradition and typicality. The aim of industrial wine is to reach the greatest number of consumers possible and offer them a wine at a price they are willing to pay. This at the cost of employing invasive farming techniques, irrigation, mechanized pruning and harvesting, wood chips instead of barrels, chemical compounds to obtain certain aromas and flavors. In other words, the total submission of agriculture to industry.

Industrial wines essentially come from the New World, Australia, Chile but also the United States, in California. The companies involved are enormous. The Gallo Winery in Modesto produces a billion bottles a year, some 25% of all wine made in the USA. But industrial producers, thanks to using cutting-edge cellar techniques, can also make wines with a high qualitative profile. This makes them a formidable opponent for small producers who cannot benefit from their cost-saving devices and ability to penetrate markets. Yet even here not all is negative. In the history of Italian wine, for example, there has been a unique yet often efficient alliance between industrialists and wine growers. This has taken place in the framework of cooperatives. The big wine cooperatives have been the main suppliers for the leading industrial groups, while some have themselves opted industrial methods. The famous case of Tavernello wines is an emblematic example, despite its questionable ad campaign seeking to give it a 'rustic' origin. Some wines have been created thanks to industrial practices including 'new' or novello wines and some sparkling wines sold around the world. In some cases industrial wines have even created trends. An example of this is the case of Pinot Grigio that has, above all in the United States, become synonymous with white wines that have not been aged in wood. It is having an incredible market success and it all began with Santa Margherita in the 1960s, an industrial winery but one with a lot of merits.