Here's Why You Should Pay Attention to Small Wineries

Let’s recognize some small wineries, and here’s why…

I’m always amazed at the quality and how the smaller wineries can find the optimum block(s) or vineyard or have natural winemaking talent to make some of their wines.  Even average grapes can be transcended into a fantastic bottle of wine by an up and coming assistant or young winemaker that hasn’t been influenced by industry styles or ideas.  This attention to detail can be lost once production and demand start to ramp up, but not always just to be fair. 

Have you ever had a wine that you love and then suddenly, it’s not giving you the same sensations or satisfaction as in previous bottles. ??? That’s usually (but not always) a sign from my experiences of

tasting wines for over 23+ years.  I’ll say to myself “Uh-Oh”, what happened?  And with a little homework I find out that the grapes might be getting sourced elsewhere or something has changed with the process or corporate influence (where a conglomerate buys a winery out).

So, you might ask yourself, has this happened to me?  If so, you might want to think about trying a family owned or small production producers.   There are so many that just don’t get noticed if you’re not a local resident to the area.  This falls into our wine discovery philosophy a little bit. 

I’ve been fortunate for the last two decades to experience these kinds of wineries and producers.   I’ve always been on the look out to find hidden gems. Now that I’m part of Plume Ridge, I’m able to continue and source some of these quality wineries and present them to our local patrons.  Please feel free to email me blake@plumeridge.com and I’ll be happy to share some names from these beautifully made wine making producers.

Photo credit Zimmerman Visual