A vineyard designated wine is a

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

produced from the product of a single

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

with that vineyard's name appearing on the

wine label Wine labels are important sources of information for consumers since they tell the type and origin of the wine. The label is often the only resource a buyer has for evaluating the wine before purchasing it. Certain information is ordinarily inclu ...

. Throughout the history of winemaking and

viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...

, the differences in quality between one plot of land and another have been observed with the boundaries of these vineyard generally well demarcated. In

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

, the vineyards of the area are classified with the highest quality vineyards receiving the ranking of Grand cru. The names of these vineyards, such as Montrachet, will often appear on the wine label of Burgundy wines in bolder, more prominent print than even the name of the producer.K. MacNeil ''The Wine Bible'' pg 194-196 Workman Publishing 2001 In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the appearance of vineyards name on wine labels is a relatively recent phenomenon with one of the first vineyard designated premium wines in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

being the 1966 vintage Heitz Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Later examples include the 1975 Robert Young Vineyard

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 France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new a ...

from the Sonoma wine estate of Chateau St. Jean.T. Elkjer '
Tale of Two Valleys
"'' Appellation America, October 4, 2005 On the East Coast, Unionville Vineyards produces single vineyard wines, primarily

. Under US wine laws, if the name of vineyard appears on the label at least 95% of the grapes used to make the wine must come from that vineyard.CNN Interactive '
Wine labels: How to read them
'' CNN.com November 19th, 1998

References

{{reflist

External links

*T. Caputo '
Vineyard-Designated Wines Showcase Growers
'' Wine Review Online, August 5, 2008 *A. Goldfarb '

'' Appellation America, May 17, 2007 Viticulture Wine terminology