Italiano
Cooperative wines
Those who read Doctor Wine know that I hold cooperatives in high esteem. This equally because of the virtuous social function they play and for the fact that they allow those with small vineyards to have an economic outlet that they otherwise would not have. If this was not the case, a country like Italy, where winegrowers has an average of just over a hectare of vineyards, would see around a third of its vineyards abandoned with dire consequences. These include a change in the country’s landscape, with former farmlands left uncared for, to a reduction in production that would lead to an inevitable hike in prices. Only cooperatives can prevent this, in various sectors, by playing a role that goes beyond simple wine production. For sure there are negative aspects to the cooperative sector but these belong more to the past than today and involve wasting state subsidies and producing poor wines through bad management that is incompetent and/or corrupt. At present, however, the majority of Italian cooperatives produce wines that are at least honest and, in some cases, simply extraordinary. Here I will draw your attention to some that have impressed me the most in recent months in the hope of changing the minds of those who have doubts or misgivings about wines produced by cooperatives. And this without including the “Kellerei Genossenschaft” in Alto Adige which are some of the world’s finest cooperatives and about which few have any doubts.
