Cooperation in the South of France

One of the main barriers to achieving commercial success in teh south of France is money. The wineries of the Languedoc, Rousillon and Gascony have never had access to the kind of funding available elsewhere and this necessitates a different approach. Whilst prevalent elsewhere in France, the practice of forming a cooperative has become vital to the industry in the South. 

The theory behind a co-op is essentially that a group of vineyard owners will work together  to create and sell wine. They become members and sell their grapes to the collective (essentially themselves) who then make the wine and sell it on. This protects the growers in terms of giving them a better bargaining position in the market place, protects individuals against grape growing risks such as a particularly bad frost or hailstorm wiping out a crop, and ensures that the quality of the wines is of a standard that all members are happy with.

The wines of Comte de Morlieres are drawn from the grape growing and wine making expertise of over 100 producers based around the appellation of Pic Saint Loup. They are medium bodied, showcasing bright fruit aromas and a marked stoney mineral backbone. These are wonderful wines which show what can be achieved through cooperation and shared expertise.