The Appeal of Single Vineyard Wines

You'll often see advertisements for single vineyard wines. In them, there are a few things you will notice. Among them are the listing of the vineyard and the price -- almost always a fairly high number. Should you pay that much?

It depends. It depends on a lot of things. But, for the most part, unless you really know wine, you are as often as not, if not more often than not, wasting a lot of money. The fact is that you likely don't know the difference and even if you do, it is more likely that you can't tell the difference.

Note, though, that I didn't say impossible. There are some vineyards that I know well that I gravitate to. And, while most are among the pricier bottles that I own, some are not.

What's going on here?

Either a particular winery owns a vineyard, has exclusive rights to a vineyard, leases a part of it, or buys juice from it. You usually don't know which is the case. What you do know though is that it is virtually always the case that the best grapes from that vineyard or part of the vineyard are going into that single vineyard wine. It's how the price is justified. So, for example, if you know that you have historically loved the wines from, let's say, Pickett Road Vineyard, then you might just be getting a wine that you really love by buying one with that on the label. Is it worth the difference? That's up to you, your palate, and your wallet. 

The less a particular winery's connection to a vineyard, however, the bigger the risk you are taking. Each vineyard has blocks and it is a very rare wine drinker that knows who has which blocks in which vineyard, which blocks have which characteristics, and whether they like those characteristics or not.

Consider yourself. Maybe you drink wine every day and you've developed incredible knowledge by reading this blog for the better part of 369 days. You always pay attention to what you drink. And, you have a memory like an elephant.

What is your favorite vineyard? I'm not asking about your favorite winery, but your favorite vineyard. If you can't come up with just one, how about some of your top 10. Now, think of one of them and consider your favorite wine from that vineyard. Do you know what makes it so? Do you know where on the vineyard that wine's grapes come from? Does it matter? Do that wine's grapes always come from the same place?

See. There are so many variables and you don't know what they are and if they matter and how to find out and whether you fell in love because of the grapes from the southeast corner or the northwest corner or some mixture. Unless, of course, the vineyard is small and owned exclusively by one winery and they use that entire plot or at least the best grapes from that small plot for your favorite wine and you know that and you like the wine consistently.

Yes, with many vineyards and the wines that come from them, I am one of those wierdos who can tell you. I know who gets their grapes from where on the vineyard and what the characteristics are and whether I like them or not and how much. 

You probably don't, however, and frankly, you didn't need me to tell you that. But, what you might have needed is for me to tell you that you are potentially paying a whole lot more for something you can't taste and don't understand.

I'm not trying to be demeaning. I'm simply trying to save you money. In parts of the world where I don't have the same knowledge that I might in places like Napa or Sonoma, Columbia Valley, or Willammette Valley, I am that person who needs to be careful not to overspend.

Just be careful. This should be for your pleasure and not to grow your debt. There are plenty of wines for you to try that you will love where the price just won't make you think twice. Let a friend serve you that $200 per bottle single vineyard wine to see if you like. Isn't that what friends are for? 😛