cooperative
A winery or cellar that’s jointly owned and operated by a group of small producers. A cooperative is usually started in an effort to spread the cost of facilities, equipment, and marketing among the participants. Europe in particular has hundreds of cooperatives, some of which have grown into huge organizations. For many small producers, these cooperatives continue to be extremely important because it would be prohibitively expensive for each one to upgrade to the latest technology and produce wine that’s competitive with the rest of the world. In Italy, a cooperative is called a cantina sociale or cantina cooperativa; in Germany, it’s called a Weingärtnergenossenschaft, Winzergenossenschaft, or Zentralkellerei. The French term is cave cooperative.
The New Wine Lovers Companion, 2nd Edition, by Ron Herbst and Sharon Tyler Herbst. Copyright © (1) 2003, 1995 by Ron Herbst and Sharon Tyler Herbst. Reprinted by arrangement with Barron's Educational Series, Inc.