When shopping online for wine, there are many wineries that call themselves “boutique” wineries. It sounds a lot swankier to say you picked up the Shiraz blend from a boutique winery. You’re sure to impress your dinner guests, but someone at the table is bound to ask: how are boutique wineries different from regular wineries?
Defining “boutique”
The word “boutique” is defined as a “small, exclusive business offering customised service”. When referring to a wine boutique, this comes pretty close to defining what it does. A boutique winery is a small wine-producing business. Its annual production comes to only a few hundred cases of wine per year and usually the bottles are bit more expensive than the stuff coming off the bigger wineries.
Boutique wineries are usually family-run businesses where the owner is also the winemaker. They might only specialise in one or two grape varieties, although some boutique wineries produce a number of different wine types.
Are boutique wineries better?
When people hear the word “boutique”, it implies something rare and exclusive. It follows that something produced in smaller quantities must be of better quality than something mass-produced. Because the volumes are smaller at a boutique winery, the winemaking process is a lot more hands-on than it would be at a big winery. The winemaker can keep a closer eye on the process and manipulate it to achieve his or her goals.
Boutique wineries are also known for the personal touches they put on their wines. Most boutique wineries design their own labels and market their wine themselves, or sometimes not at all. Customers who try their wine usually come back for more – not just for appeal of buying an exclusive wine, but usually because the quality is good.
Not always
Smaller doesn’t always mean better. A small winery producing small amounts can call itself a boutique, but that doesn’t mean it makes good quality wine. In the same way, bigger grounds and bigger production numbers don’t mean that quality is lacking in their wines.
Make up your own mind by ordering some wine at BoutiqueWineries.com.au where you’ll find only the best boutique wineries, and discover for yourself what sets boutique wineries apart
Visit these boutique wineries to grow your knowledge of boutique wine and boutique wineries:
