When we think of vineyards and wineries, it is easy to think that a producer owns all the land their grapes come from, but this is rarely the case. Often, wineries source their grapes, that is to say they buy their grapes from someone else.

Typically, that someone else is a person who just grows grapes, but it can also be from another winery. This week we’ll be diving into the who, why and where of grape sourcing.

Let’s tackle the where first, because that is the easiest question to tackle. Where does grape sourcing happen? Basically, anywhere that grapes are grown! Sourcing grapes is practically a way of life in France’s Burgundy region, this is likely where the practice started, but it extends across the world, to Sauvignon Blanc rich Marlborough New Zealand, to sunny Napa Valley and the rolling hills of Tuscany. Where there is wine production, there is grape sourcing.

Who is involved in the process? Well, the demand side is easy, people who are wanting to make wine ,and need more grapes than they have. The supply side is a little more nuanced. Many people are simply grape growers, the reason they do this can vary. Maybe they only own a small patch of vines in one vineyard, something that is common in Burgundy. Maybe they view themselves simply as farmers growing a crop, a common mentality in New Zealand. From time to time it is someone who makes a little bit of wine, but don’t want to have a commercial winery and are growing more grapes than they could ever use. Also, from time to time, wineries that do grow all of their own grapes may have excess grapes, they may only have the capacity in the winery to process 100 tons of grapes in a given year but they grew 120 tons, they often sell off the grapes they view as the least valuable for their wines.

So why does this happen? Well as mentioned above some people who grow grapes simply don’t want to make wine, or not a lot of wine. Why do wineries buy grapes? Often it is an economic decision, land is expensive, especially land in places like Napa or Burgundy. So rather than forking up millions of dollars for a small parcel of land, add on to that having to buy farming equipment and a lot of additional labor cost, it can be a huge upfront investment. So many choose to buy grapes from people who are already growing them.

While grape sourcing may not be the sexiest topic in the world of wine, we think it is important for people to know where their wine comes from and how it is made. This week we’ll be trying a wine called My Favorite Neighbor that is an homage to the people Booker Vineyards source their wines from, stop in and try it with us!