03/03/06 Wine places

There are many terms used to describe the places that wine originates and on today's Vine to Wine we will explore the differences between the terms Vineyard, Winery and Estate. Welcome to Vine to Wine, I'm your host Linda Moran and although most of us think of the place where grapes are grown as a farm it is actually a special type of grape growing place called a vineyard. A vineyard is a piece of property selected because the location is distinctly conducive to growing a specific grape or grapes. If the vineyard consistently produces high quality fruit then it may be identified on the label. This called a vineyard designated wine and is usually an indication of merit. If a winery doesn't own it's own vineyards then they will usually develop long term relationships with the growers to insure the consistency of their wines. Now the production facility where the wine is actually made, bottled and aged is called the winery. It is usually close to the vineyards to make certain that the production begins as soon after harvest as possible. If you notice the term "Estate" wine upon the label of a wine produced in the United States, it indicates that the grapes were grown on property owned or controlled by the winery and that the wine was crushed, fermented, bottled and aged in that winery's production facility. So there you have it the simple differences between the terms vineyard, winery and estate. And thanks for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.