Virtual wineries are not a new concept to the wine industry but it’s very new to me as a wine consumer. After discovering this wine making method, I felt like my 7-year-old self again being told by my parents that Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy are fake — all in the same day. Yes, I agree this is a bit over dramatic. But I felt like I’ve been lied to my entire “drinking age” life.

For those of you also unfamiliar with virtual wineries they have been around for nearly two decades. Under the virtual-winery model, a person with no vineyard or equipment uses an existing winery to crush and ferment purchased grapes, then bottles the results under his or her own label. This particular explanation is from a Globe and Mail article by Beppi Crosariol. Virtual wineries exist in most wine regions across the globe. Essentially, they allow wine makers to produce juice without having to get dirt under their nails or spend a fortune building a winery. Instead, they use crush facilities to establish their product. Opponents say the model invites unfair competition, giving urban dabblers a fast track into an industry where others have sank small fortunes into land, barrels, buildings and meticulous inventory control to satisfy tortuous provincial policies surrounding the manufacture and sale of alcohol (excerpt from Globe and Mail article by Beppi Crosariol).

When I enjoy a bottle of wine I think about the farmers— hot sun beating down on leather-skinned hands picking each grape with such care it’s comparable to taking the broken heart out of “Cavity Sam” in the childhood game of Operation. I wonder if the hearts of grape farmers in Mendoza, Argentina, who shed blood, sweat, and tears to create a rich deeply coloured Malbec are breaking over the idea of virtual wineries. My heart broke a few weeks ago when I realized a lot of the wine I enjoy on a regular basis come from virtual wineries. My dream of leather handed farmers and big oak barrels turned into a nightmare of uncertainty and big cement compounds almost like a wine prison. I admit these are outrageous descriptions of a form of wine making I know little about. But my point is for some reason upon the discovery of virtual wineries I felt like all my knowledge of wine was a complete sham. Like Jim Carrey’s life in “The Truman Show.”

Although this discovery came as a shock to me, I needed to know the benefits of virtual wineries before I shamelessly continued on my emotional rampage. After all, some great wines come from these “wine prisons.” From the United States: Underdog Wine’s Big House and Cupcake. New Zealand’s Kim Crawford got it’s start as a virtual winery and Sandhill Winery is a popular choice in Canada. These wines are not only cost-friendly but according to an article from Wine Access magazine they are also environmentally friendly. One of the major benefits of virtual wineries is they are the perfect answer for so many who see the folly of paving another hectare, erecting another structure, importing another press and bottling line and otherwise expending significant resources to make cases of wine when it is not necessary (“The Next Big Thing: Virtual Wineries by: Anthony Gismondi).

Next time you go to buy wine ask yourself, what matters to me— land or brand? Or maybe you just buy wine because you enjoy the taste, price, or label and in that case just have fun with it. You can twist or pop the top knowing that either way, passionate wine makers took time to create an experience just for you.

“When you drink a bottle from New Zealand, Australia, California or where ever, do you think whether it’s a virtual winery or not? No. It’s a bottle of wine and it’s what’s in that bottle that counts. Stop limiting yourselves.” – Thomas B.

Resources:

Globe and Mail article Controversy froths up over BC virtual winery http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/wine/beppi-crosariol/controversy-froths-up-over-bc-virtual-winery/article1982471/page1/

http://www.wineaccess.ca/articles/item/virtual-wineries