Reserve wine is
wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
of a higher quality than usual, a wine that has been aged before sale, or both. Traditionally, winemakers would reserve some of their best wine rather than sell it immediately, coining the term.
In some countries the use of the term "reserve", "''reserva''" or "''riserva''" is regulated, but in many places it is not. According to Italian wine laws, ''riserva'' indicates additional aging.
Sometimes, reserve wine originates from the best
vineyards
A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...
, or the best barrels. Reserve wines may be made in a style suited to longer
aging
Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. In ...
periods. In regions where the use is not regulated, the presence of the term "reserve" on a wine label may be a
marketing
Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...
strategy, without specific criteria.
In
Kendall-Jackson
Kendall-Jackson Vineyard Estates is a vineyard and winery, under the Kendall-Jackson brand, located in Santa Rosa, California in the Sonoma Valley wine country. As of 2010 Kendall-Jackson was the highest-selling brand of "super-premium" wine (retai ...
Chardonnay
Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern French wine, France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from English wine, Englan ...
, every bottle produced is "Vintner's Reserve", and to indicate a traditional reserve wine, Kendall-Jackson uses the term "Grand Reserve".
Like the term "
old vines", "reserve" traditionally indicates a wine that is special,
or at least different in flavor or aging potential. The presence of a non-reserve bottling with a producer that also sells reserve wine makes it more likely that "reserve" is used in its traditional sense. Partly because of the often vague meaning of "reserve", many
wineries
A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, b ...
produce named
cuvée
''Cuvée''Or Cuvee on some English-language labels. () is a French wine term that derives from ''cuve'', meaning vat or tank.J. Robinson (ed), ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'', Third Edition, p. 218, Oxford University Press 2006, winepros.com.a ...
s instead. Typically these are reserve wines in the traditional meaning of the word.
Iberia
In
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, reserva is a regulated term controlled by law, at least ensuring that reserve wines get some additional
aging
Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. In ...
. In practice it is very difficult to regulate quality, so the term primarily deals with ageing and alcoholic strength. In Spanish wines, the requirements varies between regions, but typically, when used on a label "Reserva" means that the wine was aged for at least three years in the
cask
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, u ...
and
bottle
A bottle is a narrow-necked container made of an impermeable material (such as glass, plastic or aluminium) in various shapes and sizes that stores and transports liquids. Its mouth, at the bottling line, can be sealed with an internal stopp ...
, at least one of which must have been in the cask.
Those that have been aged for five years (two in cask, three in bottle) or more are labelled .
Gran Reservas are intended to be made only in exceptional vintages, but this is up to the producer.
In
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
the term indicates that the wine has an
alcohol
Alcohol most commonly refers to:
* Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom
* Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks
Alcohol may also refer to:
Chemicals
* Ethanol, one of sev ...
level of at least 0.5 percent above the regional minimum, and that it was made from a rated
vintage
Vintage, in winemaking, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product—wine (see Harvest (wine)). A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certa ...
.
Champagne
In the
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
of "non-vintage"
Champagne
Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...
, a certain amount of aged still wine is used for blending with still wine of the youngest vintage, before this blended base wine undergoes second
fermentation
Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...
in bottle to become sparkling Champagne.
This aged still wine is called reserve wine, and this practice is meant to ensure that a certain Champagne house's non-vintage product has a consistent style over the years.
Since the reserve wine is used in the production process, it is not bottled and sold as it is, but the proportion and age of the reserve wine can contribute to the quality of a Champagne.
Austrian DACs
In the Austrian
Districtus Austriae Controllatus
Districtus Austriae Controllatus (Latin for ''Controlled District of Austria''), DAC, is a classification for regionally typical quality wine (legal categoryQualitätswein) in Austria. It is loosely modelled on the French ''Appellation d'Origine ...
(DAC) system, most DACs have an additional ''Reserve'' designation for a wine which has slightly more strict requirements.
German Kabinett
Before the 1971 German wine law, a term corresponding to reserve wine existed in ''kabinett'', sometimes written as ''Kabinettwein''. In 1971, the similar-sounding term ''
Kabinett
Kabinett (literal meaning: cabinet), or sometimes Kabinettwein (literal meaning: a wine set aside in a cabinet), is a German language wine term for a wine which is made from fully ripened grapes of the main harvest, typically picked in September, ...
'' was instead introduced as the lowest level of the ''
Prädikatswein'' category, i.e., with a completely different meaning. Therefore, in the present
German wine classification
The German wine classification system puts a strong emphasis on standardization and factual completeness, and was first implemented by the German Wine Law of 1971. Nearly all of Germany's vineyards are delineated and registered as one of approxi ...
no legally defined term corresponding to reserve wine exists.
See also
*
Second wine
Second wine or second label ( French: ''Second vin'') is a term commonly associated with Bordeaux wine to refer to a second label wine made from '' cuvee'' not selected for use in the ''Grand vin'' or first label. In some cases a third wine or e ...
*
Vintage port
Port wine (also known as vinho do Porto, , or simply port) is a Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. It is typically a sweet red wine, often served with dessert, although it also comes in dry, sem ...
References
{{reflist
Wine terminology