I did a home exchange with a family in Pays Beaujolais several years ago. We tried the local Vin Cooperative and for 4 (eur) got some very ordinary wine - I was

I did a home exchange with a family in Pays Beaujolais several years ago. We tried the local Vin Cooperative and for 4 (eur) got some very ordinary wine - I was expecting much better. Then our exchange family told us to go direct to a local vineyard where they bottled their own (1 km away from coperative). The same 4 euros per bottle was gorgeous - and they had a lovely white which was still relatively new for them! We bought a case which was all we could fit into our suitcases for return flight... We asked how they sold, and they sent half their produce to the Cooperative for cash flow (where it was mixed in to improve the other rubbish presumably), and then bottled the rest themselves and sold direct. Over the years they had built a steady clientele. They did say that with taxes and transport other costs, the price went up 4x or more for end user.