| When you see reserve printed on a wine label, | | | | growing year. If the winemaker believes that the |
| you know that you are looking at a bottle of the | | | | vintage is going to be exceptional,he or she can |
| best of the best. The most common place you | | | | set that wine aside as a reserve. It could be that |
| will see a bottle of reserve, is in the red wine | | | | when the winemaker brought the crop in, he |
| category. Most white wines do not benefit from | | | | hand-picked the finest of the grapes and set |
| aging as red wines do, and that is why you will | | | | them aside for his reserve wine. Or perhaps the |
| see the reserve designation les on white wines | | | | winemaker will age his reserve wine for a longer |
| then you will on red. | | | | period of time than his normal wine. Or perhaps |
| So what does it take to have reserve printed on | | | | he ages it longer in the oak. |
| the label of a bottle of wine? For the most part, | | | | So what does the label designation mean for you? |
| this is actually a legal designation, and there are | | | | For you it means that you will have a higher |
| certain guidelines that a winemaker must follow to | | | | quality of wine. By choosing a higher quality of |
| be able to print reserve on his or her label. Just as | | | | grape, or by choosing a longer aging time, a |
| there are legal guidelines that must be met in | | | | winemaker creates an extra special bottling. If the |
| order to print the varietal on the wine label, the | | | | winemaker know his business, that equates into a |
| vintage, or the area where the grapes were | | | | finer tasting bottle of wine. |
| grown, there are also guidelines that need to be | | | | If you are thinking of buying a bottle of reserve |
| met before reserve goes on the label. | | | | wine, I would suggest that you buy a brand and |
| In order for reserve to go on the label the wine | | | | vintage that you are already happy with. If you |
| inside the bottle must be in some way special. It | | | | have a favorite red wine, then it would be logical |
| could be that the Vineyard has a area that | | | | to assume that if you bought the reserve bottle |
| produces finer grapes than the rest of the | | | | from the same winemaker, that you would be |
| vineyard for whatever reason. Perhaps the | | | | exceptionally happy with it. If you do not already |
| drainage is better, or perhaps they get afternoon | | | | have a favorite, or if you just want to try |
| sun instead of morning sun. If the grapes used in | | | | something new, head to a tasting room. Not all |
| making the wine are the best of the best then | | | | tasting rooms will have tastings of reserves, but |
| reserve can go on the label. | | | | they may have tasting of a regular wine that |
| Another reason that reserve could go on the | | | | they have reserve bottles of. |
| label, is because the Vineyard had an exceptional | | | | |