In article >,
Emery Davis > wrote:
>
[snip!]
>
>Why would someone spending $5 on a bottle buy a varietal label
>over a territorial one, if they know nothing to begin with? Are
>varietals fundamentally easier to understand, or is that just
>successful marketing?


From my own point of view, I think it is much easier to understand,
especially when talking about AOCs in which more than a dozen varietals can
be grown. Grenache is, for instance, quite different from mourvedre
or counoise. Without familiarity with a particular winery the consumer has
no way of knowing what varietal is present in the wine. I think it is
valuable to know this when browsing, for instance. As it is now, such
wines (rightly) are grouped into a 'Rhone' section, but beyond that the
consumer just has to hope that the winery decided to list the cepage on
the label.


Dimitri