Wine's Regionality

Dan Berger
Mon, 13 Apr 2026 23:00:00 -0700
Lifestyle

A television newscaster recently spoke about a gentleman who had just celebrated his 90th birthday and used the phrase "aging like fine wine" in respect to his vitality.

It is not necessarily a contradiction in terms, but not all fine wine improves in the bottle. And in today's world, it is less likely than it has ever been. Fine wine is often described these days as something that people will enjoy as soon as it's released.

When the late Orson Welles did commercials for the Paul Masson Winery decades ago, his tagline was, "Paul Masson will sell no wine before it's time." The line has been parodied ever since. One joke was told to me by a winemaker. He said it's time to sell all the wine as soon as the bubbles stop in the fermentation tank.
Updated: Tue Apr 14, 2026

A television newscaster recently spoke about a gentleman who had just celebrated his 90th birthday and used the phrase "aging like fine wine" in respect to his vitality.

It is not necessarily a contradiction in terms, but not all fine wine improves in the bottle. And in today's world, it is less likely than it has ever been. Fine wine is often described these days as something that people will enjoy as soon as it's released.

When the late Orson Welles did commercials for the Paul Masson Winery decades ago, his tagline was, "Paul Masson will sell no wine before it's time." The line has been parodied ever since. One joke was told to me by a winemaker. He said it's time to sell all the wine as soon as the bubbles stop in the fermentation tank.

So much for aging the wine until it improves. The majority of wine in the United States these days was never meant for specific aging. Indeed, modern methods for making wine have become so sophisticated that it is now far easier to make wine that tastes great within weeks of the harvest.

Decades ago, this was not widely the case in most areas of the world. But thanks to technological advances pioneered by California's best wine-making institutions, as well as technological advancements in Australia, New Zealand and more sophisticated areas of Europe, young wine is now infinitely better than it has ever been.

As a result, the 2025 harvest in California, which was rather cool, allowed wineries to make some wonderful white wines that could be sent to market sooner than ever. Many of these wines featured bright, crisp acid levels and exciting fruit aromatics.

The only thing playing against this is that throughout the country over the last three years, sales of wine have hit a figurative brick wall. Wine sales have been so devastatingly slow that many of the wines produced in 2023 and 2024 remain backed up in the marketplace and the wholesale pipeline.

Fortunately, both of those vintages were excellent (especially 2023 with a cool harvest period), so most of the wines have actually taken on interesting, mature characteristics.

However, savvy wine lovers who want the best values know that their best strategy is not to buy wines marketed as being from "California," but to focus more on sub-regions that display higher quality.

Wines from Sonoma County, for example, usually represent better quality than "California"-designated wines and smaller regions, such as Russian River Valley, Sonoma Valley and Dry Creek Valley normally indicate much higher quality wines than just county designations.

And although it may be true that such wines usually are a bit more expensive than the county-designated wines, slow sales have encouraged many retailers to begin discounting to move wines that are backlogged.

Additionally, there is so much high-quality California wine available in the bulk market today that many California-designated wines are better than they were just a few years ago.

It's hard to say, however, that it's a buyer's market. Each wine brand is subject to unique marketplace pressures and though there will be some remarkable values, some high-image brands continue to increase prices in the hope that their wines will sell to consumers who are not particularly knowledgeable.

The best strategy remains caveat emptor.

Wine of the Week: 2025 Pedroncelli Rose, Dry Creek Valley ($25) — This long-time producer in Sonoma County's Dry Creek Valley has long made a dry rose from older Zinfandel vines, giving it a unique personality. The aroma displays strawberry and watermelon aromas with a trace of raspberry. The wine is dry and requires no aging. Perfect for warm days on the patio or pool deck.

To find out more about Dan Berger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.