Négociant is the French term for a wine merchant who assembles the produce of smaller growers and winemakers and sells the result under its own name.
Négociants buy everything from grapes to grape must to wines in various states of completion. In the case of grapes or must, the négociant performs virtually all the winemaking. If he buys already fermented wine in barrels or en-vrac—basically in bulk containers, he may age the wine further, blend in other wines or simply bottle and sell it as is. The result is sold under the name of the négociant, not the name of the original grape or wine producer.
Some négociants have a recognizable house style.
Many négociants are also vineyard owners in their own right. In Burgundy for instance, négociants as
Bouchard Père et Fils
and
Faiveley
are among the largest owners of vineyards. Well-known négociants in Burgundy are
Maison Louis Jadot
,
Joseph Drouhin
, and
Vincent Girardin
; in Beaujolais,
Georges Duboeuf
; in Provence,
Mirabeau
; and in the Rhône region,
Guigal
,
Jaboulet
,
Jean-Luc Colombo
,
Chapoutier
, and
Famille Perrin
.