Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.
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www.beveragedynamics.com Tablas Creek Vineyard in Paso Robles, California, is an- other winery that puts a big emphasis on the estate desig- nation. Labels say "Grown & Bottled on the Estate," which really spells it out, as opposed to the more common "es- tate bottled" designation. "For a lot of consumers, it doesn't mean anything," says Jason Haas, general manager of his family's winery. But more knowledgeable wine drinkers un- derstand that "we had control of this product from start to fi nish. And we're proud of that fact." For years, all of the Tablas Creek bottlings were from the estate, but business considerations led to the addition in 2010 of a less expensive line of wines made from purchased grapes called Patelin de Tablas. Even the Patelin wines have an origin story of sorts. Haas' father, Robert, and the Perrin family of Chateau de Beaucastel in France's Chateauneuf- du-Pape region bought the Tablas property in 1989 and im- ported grapevine cuttings from France. Once the cuttings cleared quarantine, the partners started propagating them in their own vine nursery in Paso Robles. They used those vines to plant the Tablas Creek estate and also shared them with other wineries. The vineyards used for Patelin, which are listed on the back label, are planted with the descen- dants of those original vines. "That origin story is kind of baked into the Tablas Creek brand," Haas said. He added that he considers all the estate wines to be single-vineyard, too: Tablas Creek Vineyard. ESTATE OR SINGLE-VINEYARD? As for single-vineyard wines, they seem to be everywhere these days. In many cases, they're made in quantities so small that they're sold mostly (or entirely) direct to con- sumers and to wine clubs. Testarossa Winery in Los Gatos, California, produces vineyard-designate wines, mostly Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, from 17 vineyards, and about 85 percent of the production is sold direct to consumers. The winery and tasting room are in Silicon Valley, where people "want something unique and special," says Rob Jensen, who owns Testarossa with his wife, Diana. So Testarossa rolls out a new single-vineyard wine about every six weeks, which encourages customers to make frequent visits to the tasting room. This approach has helped the winery build its wine club to more than 4,000 members. Testarossa goes to extremes to promote the birthplaces of its wines, offering vineyard tours to its club members. Jensen said his customers love to "kick the dirt, see the vines, feel the fog roll in." A common criticism is that single-vineyard wines are more about marketing than distinctiveness. In many cases, such wines can taste so similar to one another that it's tempting to wonder: What's the point? (Besides, perhaps, the ability to charge more for such wines.) Jensen defends the uniqueness of Testarossa's single-vine- yard bottlings. "We regularly do side-by-side tastings of our single-vineyard wines, and even within the same appellation, the wines are clearly distinct," he says. In some cases, the Estate Wines 32 Beverage Dynamics • July/August 2017 Miller said he hasn't done any specifi c research on the value of a vineyard designation, but his "gut-level reaction" is that including the name of a vineyard "is a clue that the wine is more upscale, prestigious or higher quality." This is especially true when the vineyard is well-known. He cautioned, however, that this applies only to frequent or high-end consumers, not to all wine drinkers. The concept of estate-bottled wines is similar to the French practices known as chateau or domaine bottling ("mise en bou- teille au chateau/domaine"). Labels on Old World wines also frequently carry the name of a specifi c place or vineyard. Think Clos Vougeot or Bonnes Mares in France's Burgundy region, or Bernkasteler Doctor in Germany's Mosel. SELLING THE STORY Winery representatives say that using "estate bottled" or a vine- yard name helps to tell a wine's origin story. Nevertheless – and in spite of research like Miller's – a lot of wineries whose wines are indeed estate bottled don't indicate that on the front label. Washington state giant Chateau Ste. Michelle, for example, doesn't use the term on the front label, although it's mentioned on the back, when applicable, according to vice president of marketing Jan Barnes. The wines at Chehalem in Oregon's Willamette Valley are all estate bottled, but that winery also doesn't use the term on the front; it's included in a description on the back label, says founder and owner Harry Peterson-Ne- dry. "People should care about that, even though we fi nd that people don't notice," he said. Then he added, "We should be emphasizing more and more that we're growing the grapes." Foley Family Wines uses an estate designation on its wines from Chalk Hill and Chalone – California wineries that domi- nate their American Viticultural Areas and lent their names to those areas. At Chalk Hill, for example, "We've always talked about the origin. That's always been a big part of the story," says Foley director of marketing Denise Roach. At other wineries, she says, the company leaves it to the hospitality staffs at the respective tasting rooms to tell the story to customers. But there are also plenty of U.S. wineries that use estate bottled. Far Niente president and partner Larry Maguire, for example, thinks his customers see the term as a "guarantee of quality" from the Napa Valley winery. Plus, he joked, using it "prevents us from making ill-conceived decisions in the fog of war" because of the restrictions it carries.