About Reserve Wines

Instructions: Start with part-1, then read part-2 before reading part-3

About Reserve Wines - Part 2 About Reserve Wines - Part 3

From time to time wine lovers will find themselves in a wine shop reaching for the regular release of, for example, a Cabernet Sauvignon from a good winery (typically, $10 to $15) while glancing over at the same winery's single vineyard or reserve wine at 2 or 3 times the price. We have all wondered whether these premium wines are worth the higher price. Many wineries are making very good wines for $15 or less, so why even bother with more expensive wines? Because of this common dilemma I thought it would be worthwhile to examine several questions: What goes into the making of a reserve wine; why they cost more; and, how much better are they?

In exploring this subject we will focus on one winery, and use their wines as examples. I wanted to choose a winery that produces both a very good regular release wine, and also reserve wines that most of us will have access to. A winery that is serious about wine and the art of wine making. I chose the J.Lohr Winery in Monterey County, California. The owner and founder, Jerry Lohr and winemaker, Jeff Meier are both dedicated to making fine wine. They are on the cutting edge of winemaking while incorporating many of the "old-world" techniques of Europe, and France in particular.

Here are some common factors that will drive up the price of reserve wines from most wineries.

In the Vineyard

1) To start with, top quality vineyards or premium land in an area that has a reputation for producing better grapes, will always cost more. So right from the start, the winery is spending more money.

2) More expensive cultivating techniques are used for reserve wines:

a) Using a technique called green harvesting, many wineries prune back and discard a portion of the grapes on each vine before they ripen. In addition, after they ripen, the lower quality grapes from each vineyard are often separated and used for less-expensive wines, leaving only the best grapes for the reserve wines. This pruning and selection translates to a lower total yield per acre, while the extra work means higher labor cost for each bottle of wine that is produced.

b) A winery's single vineyard or reserve wines are usually from older vines. As a grape vine's roots grow deeper into the earth, they penetrate different layers and types of soil, absorbing more flavors and complexity from each layer. But as a vine grows older its annual production of grapes tends to decline. Yet the root system keeps growing, and over time, the amount of root surface area that is available to feed each bunch of grapes increases. As it does, every grape receives more energy and nutrients from the vine, resulting in deeper and more concentrated flavors.

c) Grapes are sometimes hand picked in order to pick only those that are at the perfect point of ripeness that day. Hand picking is much more time consuming and involved then machine harvesting.

d) Many top vineyards are now using organic growing methods to produce the best wines. Organic growing is more expensive and does not include any of the money-saving shortcuts used by other growing methods.

Wine Making

1) Just as in the vineyard, when grapes for reserve wines reach the cellar they receive more attention, and more costly winemaking techniques are utilized;

a) In many cases smaller, higher grade, and more expensive oak barrels will be used in the making of reserve wines.

b) A higher percentage of new oak barrels will be used, requiring the purchase of more barrels each year. The used barrels are, in most cases, then used for other wines.

c) Reserve wines take much longer to make, and they spend more time in each phase of the wine making process. Most importantly, they are generally aged longer in the barrel, and then again in the bottle before release. Storing the wines longer before release requires more space and affects cash flow, making the whole process more costly.

The Marketplace

And of course we cannot ignore the universal law of Supply and Demand. Most reserve wines are produced in relatively small amounts and are sought after by consumers, restaurants, and retailers around the world. This translates to higher prices.

The Palate

When just starting to taste wines the different between regular release wines and single vineyard ones will seem hardly noticeable and not worth the higher price tag. But as one's palate becomes more experienced and sophisticated these differences become more and more apparent, and hence, the higher price becomes more understandable.

Now lets see what goes into the making of J.Lohr' s "Estates" wines and their "Single Vineyard Series Wines", with reviews and tasting notes.

Click! Here for part 2

Click! Here for part 3

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