The art of winemaking is ancient, having been carried out in various parts of the world for centuries. The first written record of the production of wine dates back to 2700 B.C.
What is the difference between a winery and a vineyard?
To understand the processes and terminology associated with winemaking, it’s necessary to understand what these terms mean.
This article will look at the differences between a winery and a vineyard and the way they interact.
The Difference Between Winery and Vineyard – The Basics
A winery is a facility for making and aging wine. The winery receives grape shipments, crushes them and ferments the juice, then ages and bottles the wine for sale.
A vineyard is any plot of land dedicated to the growing of grapes for any reason. They can be for wine, grape juice, raisins, or fresh table grapes.
A vineyard is a field that grows grapes.
A winery may own vineyards, or a vineyard may have a winery, but they work together and the terms are not interchangeable.
What is a Winery?
A winery is a business that produces wine. Wineries can be found all over the world.
They receive grape shipments and produce unique wines with private labels representing their unique creations.
A winery is a clean facility where all the steps of the winemaking process from crushing to bottling happen under one roof.
They may use grapes from various vineyards to create unique wine flavors.
The majority of wineries are small operations that produce local wines for boutique sales in the tasting room and local outlets.
However, some larger wineries also produce wine for sale to mass-market consumers on the internet, in grocery stores, warehouse stores, and in tasting rooms.
Curious to see what it’s like to produce small batches of wine at a winery that has its own vineyard? Watch it happen at the Bolney Wine Estate.
4 Types of Wineries
There are several different types of wineries, with each one producing a slightly different type of wine.
Commercial winery
A commercial winery is a business that produces wine for sale to consumers.
These are large operations, and may also produce other alcoholic beverages like brandy or fruit juices.
Read More: Commercial Grade Humidor. If you like a good cigar with your wine, see if the commercial humidors could improve your experience!
Vineyard winery
A vineyard winery is a business that produces wine for its own consumption and local sale from grapes not sold to commercial wineries.
This type of winery is usually a small operation, and the wines produced are typically consumed by the business owners and employees.
Most consumers prefer the wines made by commercial wineries to those made by vineyard wineries because the taste is consistent from bottle to bottle.
Small Batch Winery
Small batch wine is produced in limited quantities. It’s also known as boutique wine or craft winemaking.
Small batch wines are often made with organic methods and sometimes blended using unconventional ingredients to enhance flavor and aroma.
Urban Winery
An urban winery is typically a small winery owned by an individual.
Urban wineries are sometimes located in inner-city areas that have been redeveloped for commercial and residential use.
What Is a Vineyard?
A vineyard is a place where grapes are grown. Vineyards are often located on foothills to take advantage of the cooler temperatures during the growing season.
The grapes are grown on the vines ranging from 6 to 16 feet tall, depending on the grape variety.
Grapes grown in vineyards can be table grapes, wine grapes, juice grapes, or raisins. Any field that grows grapes is a vineyard.
Several different grape varieties can be used to make wine, including Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah.
Some grapes may be reserved to make wine at the vineyard, but most are sold and shipped to the winery for production.
How Do Vineyards and Wineries Work Together?
While a vineyard is where the grapes are grown to make wine, a winery is the building where the wine is fermented into alcohol.
The grapes are grown in the vineyard, usually to the specifications of the winery that will buy them when they’re ready.
Immediately after harvest, they’re sent to the winery where they’re processed and bottled.
In the case of ice wine, the grapes must be frozen solid for several days before harvest.
They are pressed while frozen solid to extract the thick syrup before fermentation which results in a super sweet wine.
A winery may make red wine, white wine, sweet wine, or sparkling wine. Some also produce brandy, fruit wine, non-alcoholic, fortified wine, or other types of wine.
Read More: How Many Bottles of Wine Are in a Box? Whether you’re planning for an event or stocking up for your restaurant or bar, it’s important to know how many bottles of wine are in a case.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the difference between a winegrower and a winemaker?
A: winegrower is an individual or company who grows grapes and produces wine. A winemaker works in a winery and makes the fermented grape juice into wine.
Q: How many varieties of grapes exist?
A: There are more than 400 varieties of grapes, but only about 100 varieties are used for making wine.
Q: Do all wines come from France and Italy?
No, wine is produced worldwide, including in Australia, the United States, England, Austria, Germany, New Zealand, South Africa, and Argentina.
Final Thoughts
A winery and a vineyard are two different places, but they work so closely together that it’s easy to get them confused. Also, many wineries own their own vineyards.
However, the people who work in the vineyard are experts at growing perfect grapes while the people who work in the winery are experts at producing and bottling wine.