Small plots of land and a careful grape selection are the first steps that should be taken to produce "boutique wines", a market in which Latin-American producers have surged ahead of the field in the past years. Even though is not an original idea from the New World, but French, since it emerged two decades ago with the "vin de garage" phenomenon, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina and a good number of other South American countries have penetrated the luxury product market up exporting their best wines to restaurants, wine merchants and the most exclusive hotels in cities worldwide.
Patience, dedication and passion are the attributes needed to create these wines, which are defined by their excellent quality and originality. The production process of these very personal wines starts with small vineyards, which are not expected to have a high yield – quite the contrary in fact – and finding the best grapes for the type of wine in question, which is always unique with its own personality standing out from the rest and difficult to produce, which adds to its exceptionality.
Production is a traditional process, and in most cases carried out manually. In fact, the original French concept of “vin de garage’” stems from the practice of fermenting and ageing wines in places that are not cellars built for the purpose, such as garages, the sitting of a summer house or any other place, provided that the temperature and humidity are suitable. Château Valandraud, in Saint Emilion, one of the most famous French red wines, was born this way and is known for its superior quality and its pioneering spirit.
When it is time for aging, the barrels containing these wines should be new, having been used as little as possible, and require around-the-clock care and attention, something that is possible thanks to a limited production that does usually exceed 100,000 litres. After this long and delicate process, the personal touch and efforts of boutique winery owners deserves the recognition they obtain, since they devote a great amount of time and zeal to producing a true work of art.
In short, these wines of superb quality, produced on a very small scale, are a great success abroad. Only in Chile, the wine boutique boom has given rise to more than 200 brands, while Argentine boutiques like Altos Las Hormigas, Renacer Winery and Vineyards Altocedro export between 50-90% of their production to countries as disparate as United States, Belgium, Brazil and South Africa, among others.
Even though they do not go by the same name in Spain, a number of brands have emerged in recent years, which are produced with the same quality and exclusivity as boutique wines, featuring Benjamin Romeo’s Contador and Cueva del Contador, Venus from D.O. Montsant, Do Ferreiro from the Rias Baixas, and Peter Sisseck’s famous Pingus.
When boutique wineries are a great success, such as those of South America in recent years, they often expand, incorporating better equipment and technology, although without losing their quality and distinction.
