Corporate vs.Boutique was Erath sale

This is an interesting point. Two factors govern the ability to make good wine: sources of good fruit and the talent of the winemaker. Having modern (or at least appropriate) equipment is also important but proper use of the equipment goes back to having a winemaker who knows how to use it.

There are three wineries in the Seattle area whose operations I am somewhat familiar with and which I would consider "boutique" or "artisinal". Each has a talented winemaker and reliable sources of good fruit. Each has a strong family presence in its management. And each relies heavily on volunteer labor to do a lot of the "grunt work" that has to be done, particularly around harvest time. None does any marketing to speak of because their entire production is essentially sold out before it is even bottled.

I can't say for certain but my sense is that none of these wineries has any desire to significantly expand production beyond what they are producing today. Although they all have reliable long-term sources of high-quality fruit (to my knowledge, none actually owns any vineyards), I don't know how difficult it would be for them to obtain more (of the same quality) than they are getting now.

Given the characteristics of these three wineries (and almost certainly several others whose operations I am not as familiar with), none would be an attractive aquisition, at this time at least, for a large corporation. But people get old and may not have family members who are willing and-or able to carry on the business. In such cases, the owner has no choice but to sell the busness. Hopefully he-she will be selective about the buyer. My sense is that this is what privates Erath has done.

I don't agree as to the inevitability of a decline in quality when a small winery is purchased by a larger company. Certainly this has happened many times in the past. But it doesn't have to be that way.

Cole