Boutique wineries in McLaren Vale prepare for future supermarket wine sales Foggo Wines owner Herb Van de Wiel. MCLAREN Vale's boutique wineries are banding together to combat the impact of proposed laws which could lead to supermarkets selling wine. Winemakers say they are changing the way they market themselves and increasingly turning to social media in the wake of the State Government floating plans to allow supermarkets with a floor plan of more than 400 sq m to sell bottled wine. Lazy Ballerina in Hope Forest winery co-owner James Hook said the changes would impact on the boutique industry. "The majority of boutique wineries will be affected if the proposal gets the green light from the government," Mr Hook said. The big supermarket chains could buy wineries and market the wines themselves. This could mean job losses at wineries and flow-on effects to local industries. "Small cottage wineries employ people in the same way that a big factory like Holden does, so every job that gets lost from a cellar door is three or four jobs in hospitality and catering," he said. One example is Willunga's Alma Hotel, which stocks an array of local wines - about half of its business - in its bottleshop. "If there was a reduction in that it would have to reduce the number of staff that we employ," co-owner Melinda McCauley said. Mr Hook said about 20 boutique winemakers were part of the Vale Crew, which allowed wineries to join forces to promote their wines on a larger scale than they could do on their own. This included combined tastings and social media campaigns. "In isolation, none of those wineries are big enough to justify large tastings themselves, but together they can put on a combined effort that is the same size that a large company can do," Mr Hook said. Foggo Wines owner Herb Van De Wiel said he, too, would lift his winery's online presence and look at uniting with other growers. "If we lost 20 per cent of sales that could be devastating to a lot of small labels," he said. McLaren Vale Grape, Wine and Tourist Association CEO Peter Ali said he didn't want to see a "situation ending up like milk products with the discounting that goes on." A spokesman for Attorney General John Rau said the next steps would be announced in coming weeks.