Wine Chronicles: Wine’s Endless Diversity
By Dan Berger
Article Thumbnail: Dan Berger recounts a series of tasting experiences that reveal how individual bottles of the same wine can vary significantly due to bottling, storage and context. He argues that wine quality is influenced not just by production but also by perception, setting and subtle differences in handling. This bottle-to-bottle variation challenges the reliability of numerical scores and highlights the importance of open-mindedness toward wines from unconventional regions. Ultimately, Berger celebrates the diversity and unpredictability that make wine appreciation both complex and rewarding.
Wine’s Endless Diversity
Episode One: A few weeks ago, my 2024 dry riesling, which my winemakers had been shepherding for a year, finally was bottled, so I drove to the winery to pick up four cases. It’s never a chore doing this because for the next few weeks the wine will be pretty much exactly as it was immediately before bottling, and I wanted to try it.
Episode Two: In 1985 I attended a tasting at which five dozen 1953 red Bordeaux were served to four dozen tasters. Because of the large number of tasters, two bottles of each wine (or a magnum) were needed from this great vintage. Organizers kept tabs on how the bottles were served, alternating them around the room – first bottle No. 1, then No. 2, then No. 1 to the third taster, then No. 2 to the fourth, etc. This permitted each taster to try one of his two neighbors’ glasses for variations, if any.
Episode Three: About 1994, I staged a blind tasting of 21 French Champagnes for seven skilled wine-tasters, each with international experience.
Episode Four: At a 1985 blind tasting in San Diego, a wine merchant served 12 wines that he said were simple red wine blends. Invitees were eight longtime members of a wine society.
Episode Five: I hosted a dinner about 2004 at which I served a 30-year-old Napa Valley merlot. The attendees, all wine-savvy people, said the wine was awful and that it was best to get another wine.
Episode One: I opened a bottle of my 2024 riesling from the first case off the bottling line and another bottle from the last case off the line. Tasted side by side, the two glasses appeared to be identical.
Episode Two: In about 10 instances of the Bordeaux, two bottles of the “same” wine showed marked differences. In each case both wines were exceptionally good – but for different reasons.
Episode Three: One of the 21 Champagnes seemed to be an aberration to all of the tasters. The bubbly was one of the most widely available in the country. By some coincidence, we discovered that a second bottle had been purchased. It was opened, and all agreed that it again seemed to be irregular — for the same reason that the first was.
Episode Four: The retailer had actually served only 11 red wine blends, not 12. Secretly, into glass No. 4 he poured a Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet. Only two of the eight tasters could tell that glass No. 4 contained a “ringer.”
Episode Five: Even though the dinner guests swore that the merlot was “dead,” I went down to my wine cellar, grabbed the last bottle of the same wine, and pulled the cork. Everyone agreed that it was spectacular.
Challenge your vocabulary with this week’s mystery word. Submit your answer in the poll, and check the bottom of the page for the correct answer.
An old friend has told me this many times: “There are no great wines. There are only great bottles.” Even the finest wines in the world can be ruined by improper storage. Or a good wine might be elevated to exalted status by serving it with the right people, the proper foods and with an appreciation of what constituted its creation.
In each of the five cases mentioned above there is a context. Take, for example, the four cases of dry riesling mentioned in Episode One. They represent the first two and the last two cases off the bottling line. Pulling them out of distribution was a tactic I first learned about in 1979 from two winemakers based in Boulder Creek in the Santa Cruz mountains.
This husband-and-wife team told me that most wineries do not sell their first and last cases – a precaution against the possibility that something might go awry early or late in the bottling process. With modern bottling equipment, it is unlikely that a lot could go amiss, but it’s a good idea to be cautious. Removing the first and last cases avoids some of the risk of bottle variation that might occur – even if 99% of the public would never notice any such dissimilarities.
Sonoma County winemaker Greg La Follette told me that even if everything during the growing season and winemaking regimen goes perfectly, things that go wrong during the bottling process can make a mess beyond imagination. He said that if the bottling line is not operated by a master technician who knows what to look for, lots can deteriorate.
“A little too much air in the bottling line, a trace of water – a lot can go wrong,” he said, which could lead to variations in how the wine smells or tastes or both.
In the above-referenced tasting of 1953 Bordeaux, even though some age-related bottle variations existed, almost every bottle was excellent.
Although the Champagne-tasters knew something was wrong with the one outlier bottle and that it clearly seemed not to be French, only two tasters identified the “wrong” bottle as probably being from Spain. I called the import office for that Champagne producer. The importer denied that the wine might have been Spanish.
It is not particularly surprising that the wine society members didn’t identify the Mondavi Cabernet among 11 simple red blends because they had no reason not to believe that the retailer was telling the truth by saying that the wines were all cheap blends. And as for the “spoiled” Napa merlot that everyone thought was gone, I also had my doubts that another bottle would be better – and was shocked when the second bottle was so good.
Not all bottle variation is a bad thing. One of the key reasons that I dislike rating wine by numerical score is that embedded in the concept is the implication that every bottle of the “same” wine will be identical to every other bottle. Not only is this faulty logic, but there is also the case that there are different styles of cabernet that are particularly distinctive. To disparage them with low scores might very well be regional or varietal prejudice.
For example, some cabernets do not taste very good when they’re extremely young and really call for time in a wine cellar to develop character. And who says a truly great cabernet cannot be made in New Jersey? And who says a truly distinctive sauvignon blanc cannot be made in Tennessee or Delaware?
This was evident a few weeks ago when I was asked to judge more than 100 wines blind that came from places such as upstate New York, Lake Michigan Shore, Delaware, Virginia, Tennessee, Texas and several other locations not widely known for wine excellence. Several of the wines were remarkably successful.
Comparing wines like these to widely recognized classics from around the world might seem to be an exercise in futility. But recognizing either regional or grape-related dispositions can be a fascinating exercise, especially when the grape-growing and winemaking talents reach levels of excellence that provide such sufficient interest that the wine delivers a unique proficiency that is not only surprising for its overt personality but persists in delivering enjoyment that cannot be replicated all that easily or explained in words or numbers
I’m not suggesting that there is something inherently “better” about a Texas chardonnay than there is about a Napa Valley chenin blanc or a Loire Valley cabernet franc. But a wine that comes from an unexpected location and delivers a unique experience can be a good example of why we appreciate so many diverse elements in wines that provide enjoyments that differ from the ordinary experiences that we might otherwise consider to be mundane.
I doubt that it needs to be said, but far too many Napa cabernets that have scored 100 points are extremely similar to one another, almost like all winemakers are playing follow the leader.
During the blind tasting of wines from unique and distant projects, I discovered at least a dozen or more experiences that a decade ago could not have existed. Winemaking skills now exist in dozens of places where they might not have flourished were it not for the visions of talented people who forced envelopes’ extremities without caring whether they were approaching a score of 100.
To these people, a score on a wine is little more than someone else’s viewpoint that may or may not have any validity. Generally it is just an opinion, not a factual analysis. The main goal of many remote winemakers is to maximize Mother Nature’s gifts, sculpting raw materials into recognizable shapes that provide people of flexibility opportunities that do not require much more than imagination to appreciate the exertions.
Not every chardonnay should be compared with Montrachet. But every Napa cabernet that displays a unique and distinctive persona, even if it is valid, usually is a target of derision – which could lead an adventurous winemaker to perdition and an unwelcome career change.
It certainly is true that Napa Valley represents “America’s Wine Country” and has for decades. But in today’s changing world of wine, the number of people who can afford to visit Napa has been trimmed by economics, and people wishing to learn about the most exciting American wines being produced today might well visit Hector, New York; Umpqua Valley, Oregon; Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania; Garden City, Idaho; Lubbock, Texas; and Hendersonville, North Carolina.
To name just six.
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Dan Berger has been writing about wine since 1975.
Wine Discovery:
2024 Chateau Montelena Riesling, Potter Valley ($45) – This famed Calistoga property is far better known for its chardonnays and cabernets, but since the winery’s founding five decades ago, this relatively richly scented, personality-driven aperitif-styled wine has been part of Montelena’s portfolio. The style of wine that it has usually made emphasizes cooler-climate fruit, which most Napa residents know is not from Calistoga. Indeed, the Potter Valley designation identifies one of the cooler growing regions just east of Ukiah in Mendocino County that is farmed by one of the best grape farmers in the business, Guinness McFadden.
The wine is slightly sweet and works beautifully with spicy Thai food. From the winery’s website: “For fans of Montelena Riesling, this is one not to miss. On the heels of a chilly 2023 vintage, 2024 roared to life with abundant heat and sunshine. While we can certainly classify the growing season as warm [higher-altitude], Potter Valley buffers the peaky extremes better than surrounding areas, allowing for smooth, steady ripening over time.
The aromas are incredibly intense – palpable even before the wine touches the glass. Fresh ginger, jasmine and lime cascade into ripe peach and apricot. There’s a beautiful balance between citrus and stone fruit. The first sip is concurrently juicy and spicy with dynamic notes of ruby grapefruit, Key lime pie, green apple and pineapple. Candied lemon and orange zest drive the finish, although it’s hard to ignore the peach pie and cinnamon, which are decadent and straight-up delicious. This is an excellent example of how California flavor and classic structure combine in a food-friendly, agreeable wine.” Often discounted to about $40 or less.
Today’s Polls:
This Week's Word Challenge Reveal:
The correct answer is B: "Preference for one scent twin."
"Enantioselection" refers to a biological or sensory system’s ability to distinguish between two enantiomers — molecules that are mirror images of each other but not identical, like left and right hands. This is especially relevant in wine aroma and flavor: A single scent compound can have two enantiomers, one of which might smell like oranges and the other like turpentine. Humans, animals and even fermentation microbes can show enantioselective preferences, influencing both the perception and production of wine aromas.
The word stems from the Greek enantios ("opposite") and Latin selectio ("a choosing"). It entered the scientific lexicon in the early 20th century through organic chemistry and pharmacology, where understanding molecular chirality was essential. In wine science, enantioselection is increasingly relevant as vintners and researchers study how yeast strains and olfactory receptors interact with chiral molecules — helping explain subtle but meaningful differences in aroma and flavor between wines, even among "identical" bottles.
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Excellent points, Dan! "Wine from around here, wherever here happens to be." Once we get beyond preconceptions of what wine should taste like and where fine wine can or can't be made, we open ourselves to some delicious discoveries.
Really enjoyed this weeks article, especially the "episodes" and the way they were explored/revealed - it was fun. Bottle variation has always been an enigma for me. Thanks