# Etiquette question when ordering wine

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etiquette-question-when-ordering-wine/831197>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Tags:** wine\
**Created:** [March 15, 2019, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etiquette-question-when-ordering-wine/831197 "2019-03-15T21:15:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\
**Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etiquette-question-when-ordering-wine/831197/41 "2019-03-19T18:21:33Z")

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> [@Wheelz](#):
>
> Yeah, of course it’s impossible to paint every grape grown at every vineyard with the same brush. There are generalizations around every varietal, just as there are always particular harvests that defy those generalizations.

Sure, but what we’re getting at is that a wine can be a 100% Merlot wine, and not actually meet any of those generalizations. Petrus is a good example- a 100% Merlot wine from the Pomerol wine region in Bordeaux, France. I would almost guarantee that it has little in common with a bottle of Merlot from Costco other than the variety of grape and general color. Similarly, I suspect that Tenuta dell’Ornellaia Masseto Toscana IGT is going to be different than either of the other two, being grown and produced in Tuscany in the style there.

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**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\
**Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etiquette-question-when-ordering-wine/831197/42 "2019-03-19T18:43:15Z")

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> [@bump](#):
>
> I was always under the impression that a lot of stuff combined to contribute to the complexity of a given wine- terroir, that year’s growing season weather, winemaking procedures, yeasts, aging conditions, and the varietal(s) involved.
> 
> Any one of those is just a piece of the puzzle.

Absolutely. The tomato analogy is a very poor one. A tomato is something plucked off the vine and transported to your kitchen. The analogy would work for grapes. But wineries are not in the business of selling grapes. Transforming the grape to the wine is both an art and a science, and involves endless complexities and subtleties. Not only can Merlot be a very fine and complex wine, to me it is one of the best exemplars of the rich body and depth so typical of many California reds.

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**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\
**Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/etiquette-question-when-ordering-wine/831197/43 "2019-03-19T18:46:15Z")

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> [@wolfpup](#):
>
> Not only can Merlot be a very fine and complex wine, to me it is one of the best exemplars of the rich body and depth so typical of many California reds.

So you’re saying it’s still pretty shallow, then? 😛

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