Most Pretentious Wine Name

There are rude wine names, pretentious wine names, silly wine names....

Some that are humourous like Stu Pedasso Cellars in Sonoma sells Sonoma Beach Zin (try saying it to yourself) is just funny, as is Goats Do Roam from South Africa, and just about anything from Bonny Doon.

Opus One is on the pretentiously side but also classy and I have no problem with it. Ditto for Dominus.

What do you think are the most pretentious? I am going to nominate a BC winery called Blasted Church which markets a rather pedestrian cabernet as 'Nectar of the Gods'.

Dirty Laundry Woo Woo Gewurztraminer, BC.

Paillard Ne Plus Ultra Champagne
Girardin Quintessence Corton-Charlemagne
I think also a Napa winery called Quintessa
Sine Qua Non
Lots of Ultima/Ultime and variations

Paillard Ne Plus Ultra Champagne
Girardin Quintessence Corton-Charlemagne
I think also a Napa winery called Quintessa
Sine Qua Non
Lots of Ultima/Ultime and variations

I wonder if Paillard would go after another house if they used Ne Plus Ultra? It is already in use by one Scotch producer and probably by quite a few more, but I don't recall any wines offhand.

And agree that Sine Qua Non is pretentious but they avoid some flak from the plebs by putting it in Latin (which ironically is actually more pretentious) , although it doesn't really mean 'the best', it means a prerequisite or something one must have, which is a little different.

[David M. Bueker]

Ultramarine certainly strikes the tone, but the wines deserve the “ultra” moniker.

As much as I love the wine, the Selbach-Oster ‘Ur Alte Reben’ has always struck me as pretentious.

To me saying necessary/prerequisite is pretty pretentious!

As much as I love the wine, the Selbach-Oster ‘Ur Alte Reben’ has always struck me as pretentious.

Do you feel the same way about 'Très Vielles Vignes'?

[David M. Bueker]

As much as I love the wine, the Selbach-Oster ‘Ur Alte Reben’ has always struck me as pretentious.

Do you feel the same way about 'Très Vielles Vignes'?

Yes, since there’s no standard.

As much as I love the wine, the Selbach-Oster ‘Ur Alte Reben’ has always struck me as pretentious.

Do you feel the same way about 'Très Vielles Vignes'?

Yes, since there’s no standard.

Yes, the lack of standard for these things is infuriating. Especially when you have some producers using the words with much younger vines than other producers that don't use the words. But, I suppose marketing serves a purpose!

One (positive) thing you can say about the Germans is the code they have for wine naming, which came into effect in 1971, Unfortunately that only applies to the 'classified' wine levels and not to regular tafelwein, hence the names like Eins, Zwei, Dry (Leitz)

[Jenise]

Beyond guffawing over Kendall Jackson's 'Reserve', I've never considered any names pretentious. My mind just doesn't bother to judge. Opus One, yes, but only after discovering that the attitude at the winery itself is OTT pretentious--once you have that experience, you can't not make the connection.

Beyond guffawing over Kendall Jackson's 'Reserve',.

I've probably told you about the American Wine Society tasting that featured Kendall Jackson, many years ago. I think at the time they had Reserve, Special or Vintner's Reserve and Grand Reserve and that was all. It irked me so I put my hand up and asked the winery rep whether it was accurate to say that KJ applied the label 'Reserve' to any wine they hadn't poured down the drain. He waffled but then finally had to admit it.

[David M. Bueker]

One (positive) thing you can say about the Germans is the code they have for wine naming, which came into effect in 1971, Unfortunately that only applies to the 'classified' wine levels and not to regular tafelwein, hence the names like Eins, Zwei, Dry (Leitz)

I suppose you can get annoyed by that wine, but it’s specifically meant to be mass market, so not aimed at us.

That said there are so many exceptions to the 1971 rules (including real changes) these days I think picking out one is kind of silly.

Goats do Roam is from Fairview winery who are as (or even more) famous in South Africa for their cheeses , some of which have beaten similar French cheeses in France. Milk from their herd of goats is used to make their popular goats cheeses.

The name Goat do Roam was used as a way of indicating the wine style without using the banned words Cotes du Rhone. Understandably the French got very agitated.....

There is now a range of Goats wines, including Goat Rotie (showing a goat leaping over a fire), Goats do Roam in Villages and later Bored Doe.

Blasted Church and Dirty Laundry each had a rebranding from the same company - Brandever in Vancouver - and it certainly worked. Dirty Laundry is off the main highway and needs searching out but they had to vastly expand their car park, and they were packed when we visited.

FWIW - all these labels with their stories are in my Marilyn Merlot & the Naked Grape book

while there is no standard, I don't find TVV or Ur Alte Reben pretentious. Everyone I can think of who says VV or TVV really makes wines only from old vines. How old varies, but I don't know anyone making wines from 20, 30 or 40 year vines saying that. So it's just a statement of source, not pretension.

'Reserve' does have specific meaning in some wine regions. The German term 'Kabinett' roughly corresponds to 'reserve' in English. So, in a way, does 'Auslese' (select harvest). In RIoja, 'reserva' and 'gran reserva' have minimum barrel aging times associated with them.

-Paul W.

' In RIoja, 'reserva' and 'gran reserva' have minimum barrel aging times associated with them.
-Paul W.

And the extra time in wood doesn't necessarily improve the wine, although I suppose it might make the drinking window a bit earlier than less wood might.

Bill wrote:
And the extra time in wood doesn't necessarily improve the wine, although I suppose it might make the drinking window a bit earlier than less wood might.


True to some extent, but an extended barrel aging, with a desirable top up regime, could actually contribute to a wine's ageability once bottled;

Salute

True, Victor, but it can also result in a loss of freshness and an almost woody character to the wine. In Cognac, they also keep brandy in well used small cooperage but after a certain number of years usually take it out before it becomes, as they put it, boisé, taking on some undesirable woody flavours.. (The other reason is that all the time in cask, the spirit is evaporating and they have to periodically top off, which dilutes the alcoholic strength).

I agree that Rioja doesn't get nearly the same length of time in wood, but I do find some Gran Reservas (I expect the ones that have been in wood more than the mandatory 2 years) that have taken on flavours from the wood that I feel makes them slightly less attractive/enjoyable for me.