Types of Wineries
A guide to making the most of your winery tours.
When we think of wineries, we know that they come in all sizes, from huge conglomerates like Constellation Brands (U.S.A.) and Southcorp (Australia) down to single family operations with limited products. If you're planning to visit wine country, here are some winery profiles to keep in mind.
First, let's look at the European prototypes. Until recent times, very few European wineries offered more than one or two products. Chateau Margaux in Bordeaux, for example, made only one wine for most of its long and distinguished history. In recent times the winery added a white wine to its product list. The same is true with almost all the other wineries in Bordeaux. Burgundy is a little different. Each vineyard grows only the allowed varietal, almost exclusively Pinot Noir or Chardonnay. Negociants either own portions of various vineyards or buy fruit from the growers to offer a line of products. A notable feature of most European wineries is their direct connection to the vineyard, either because they own it, or regularly source from it. In contrast, most New World wineries obtain fruit from multiple sources, often blending them together to achieve a consistent, though less distinct product.
Elsewhere in Europe, many wineries still offer only one basic wine, the one upon which their reputations rests, and occasionally a second, less costly product.
Wine tourism certainly didn't begin in California, but the notion of a single winery offering a wide range of wines to satisfy the desires of the visiting public may well have its inception in Napa Valley due to its proximity to a large metropolitan area (San Francisco) that supplied a steady flow of wine tourists.
This style winery typically offers several different red wines, a dry white, an off-dry white, and often a rosé or dessert wine. Something for everyone.
A new trend in small and medium sized wineries is to forego distribution altogether and attempt to sell their product through their tasting room and to their cellar club members. These wineries necessarily need a range of products to keep all their visitors and members happy.
In recent years we've seen an increasing number of wineries that devote their entire effort to a single varietal or single style of wine. Mosby Winery in Santa Barbara County has devoted itself to Italian varietals since 1976. When you visit the historic Mosby tasting room in Buellton, you'll be treated to wines you are unlikely to find elsewhere - not the usual array offered by most other wineries.
Many small to medium sized wineries specialize in Zinfandel (Seghesio, Ravenswood, Ridge, Rosenblum, Nadeau, Turley). Many more are devoted to Rhône-styled wines (Tablas Creek, Rideau, Alban). Specialty wineries like these are more likely to produce a superior product and our experience with the wineries noted above bears this out.
Siduri in Sonoma County offers no less than 20 single vineyard designated Pinot Noirs, along with a Willamette Valley (OR) and a Sonoma County (CA) bottling. A Pinot Noir from a passionate producer like Siduri is likely to distinguish itself from a wine produced as part of a typical lineup.
in St. Helena (Napa Valley) rests its entire reputation on a single wine, it's estate bottled Cabernet Sauvignon. Spottswoode also offers a terrific Sauvignon Blanc, but like Chateau Margaux, no other wines.
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