Could You Love and Hate Wines From the Same Winery?

That seems like a strange question, doesn't it? Doesn't it make sense that if you love Qocka Qocks Qocka's Estate Merlot that you will also love all of QQQ's wines? Well, it does make sense and it is often the case, but it just might not be. Let's explore why you might just love all of their wines, but on the other hand why you might not.

Let's start with why you might love all of QQQ's wines if you love one of them. All of them have the same winemaker and the same winemaking team. Therefore, they likely use the same techniques and have the same styles. If they are all estate wines, then all the grapes come from the same general area, i.e., from somewhere on the estate. And, to the extent that they blend, they all have access to the same grapes.

Seems simple, right? So, all of QQQ's wines should be pretty similar, huh?

Not so fast. That might not be the case. Let's even assume for starters that all of QQQ's wines are estate wines. Maybe the estate spans a pretty large space. Perhaps that space includes a mountainside or hillside if you prefer. Couldn't it be that some of those grpaes are grown on flatter terrains and some on hillsides. Maybe some get significant exposure to sunlight in the afternoon while others have primary exposure in the morning when the typical fog coming off of the hypothetical bay tends to shield the sun. Perhaps some of the soil is rocky and other parts less so.

There are so many variables. And, while some wineries try to make all of their wines in a similar or common style, some purposely try not to. (Othere, of course, have absolutely no clue what they are doing and whatever juice eventually gets into the bottles is as much the product of random chance as it is about intent.

And, then there are the wineries who do not grow their own grapes. Now, to be clear, they might have significant input into the growing of the grapes in the vineyards to which they have some or exclusive rights, but they also might not have complete control. And, then there are those that source grapes from the proverbial all over the place. In fact, their grapes might come from different states or in extreme cases, different countries.

What does this all mean for you, the wine buyer or consumer? Frankly, it might not mean anything. You might see that Qocka Qocka Qocka on the label and love the wine before you taste it because you like anything with QQQ on the label. But, it's also true that you might only like some of their styles of wines.

Then, what do you do? You have to remember which ones you like and why. And then, thinking back to the last few days, you have to remember the influence of weather during the growing season for that that particular vintage and then they changed winemakers and oh, my head hurts just thinking about it.

Knowing which wines you will like is a difficult job. Maybe the best way to do it is to know what you like in a wine, understand why, and find someone who thinks that knowing this stuff is fun.