Is it important to you that a wine was estate-grown?

Why or why not?

I ask because the model seems to be quite different in Europe than in the US. There are big exceptions in places like Burgundy (and the Rhone), but in the rest of France and in all of Germany, I cannot think of a single "great" wine that was not farmed by the labelled winery. In California there are certainly hundreds of producers doing the same, but there are also many more successful, big-name wineries that purchase grapes in part or in whole than there are in Europe (Co-operatives aside). Don't get me wrong either: the majority of the Estate-grown wines in Germany, France, Italy or wherever in Europe are nothing special and some are atrocious. But the FINEST wines are almost always from vineyards owned or contracted by the producer. That isn't always the case in CA.

Cheers,
Bill

It's not important to me. Some of my favorite wines are not estate grown (ESJ for example).

I think you answered your own question - it depends what part of the world/region you're talking about.

In California "sometimes no", in Bordeaux "mostly yes".

I like to see "Estate Bottled" on a label. However, if the site isn't too good or the grower not too diligent or the wine maker somewhat lacking, then it doesn't mean much. From a personal point of view, as a home wine maker with some grape vines growing in my yard, I would be proud to present an estate bottled wine, however, my site is not very good and I'm not very good at tending vines. Very few individuals are good at both growing grapes and making wine. It takes a team that can be held together.

Harry Callahan: A man's got to know his limitations.

In France, particularly in Burgundy, there are plenty of high quality négociants who "élèvent" and sell wine under their own name made from bought in grapes or bought in wine. Jadot, Bouchard P&F, Drouhin, Champy, Chanson, Louis Latour and Dominique Laurent spring to mind. Some of these also produce wines from their own vineyards and this can usually be seem on the label by added words, such as "Domaine des Héritiers de Louis Jadot", to take the example of a Beaune Couchereaux which I opened last weekend. I confess to having a slight prejudice in favour of such "domaine" wines but in the case of, say, Jadot there is no rational basis for it.

There are also a number of good négociants operating in a similar way in the Rhône valley, e.g. Guigal, Jaboulet, Delas, Perrin, Tardieu Laurent.

Outside these regions, not many quality négociants spring to mind. Hugel & Trimbach in Alsace are négociants but their best wines IMO are "domaine".

And, of course, the "grandes marques" in Champagne are négociants manipulants ("NM" at the bottom of the label) though some, e.g. Bollinger, use a lot of own grapes. There is a fashion amongst geeks for grower ("récoltant manipulant") Champagnes identifiable as such by the small letters "RM" at the bottom of the label. Some, e.g. Egly Ouriet, Pierre Moncuit, Larmandier Bernier, Selosse, etc., are very fine and sometimes better QPR than the grandes marques. However not many Champagne lovers would turn down a glass of Bollinger, Krug, Roederer, Jacquesson, etc. just because they are not grower Champagnes.

This is a really good question and myanswer is - on balance - 'yes' and for the reason that I like a sense of place for my wines.

Given a choice between two wines that I don't know, I'll pick the Estate wine.

Thats the simple answer and yet there are so many ifs, ands and buts one can add, and the first is 'what is meant by Estate'.......

I agree with most of the above posters. People around here (WLDG) are going to look for wines from high-quality producers that care about crafting unique expressions of terroir and not Wine as Anonymous Beverage Product. Most of the time that is going to lead to 'estate' wines. But not always. However the point is not estate vs. negociant, the point is the wine. At least for me.

I'll just pile on in agreement. Most of the wines I buy are estate wines. And while given every single other factor (taste and cost) being identical, I'd choose estate over negoce or co-op, it's way down the list (and I can't remember ever making a decision based on that). Drouhin and Jadot are among top Burg producers in my cellar (though a lot are estate wines), so why should I feel differently in other regions?
Some of the Giacosa wines are negociant, and still quite fine.
Besides estate and negociant wines, I do sometimes buy co-op wines from the Produttori del Barbaresco or Domane Wachau (Freie Weingartner Wachau).
As to Germany I can't say I ever really see many negociant wines, though I've bought some Selbachs that were ok for money. Wait, is Loosen's Dr L negoce? I think so, and I buy a bottle or two of that most vintages.

Perhaps I am stating the obvious, but the actual land ownwership matters not a jot. The factor that might make a difference is the degree of cooperation between the winemakers and those who work in the vineyards.

I understand that the best US winemakers work very closely with their growers, and in many cases have control over the farming that is enforceable by contract. If that works well, surely it could be better than in the production of estate wines where the estate is badly managed and the degree of cooperation between winemakers and viticultural workers is lacking.

[David M. Bueker]

As others have said - I care but it's only a minor factor. I regularly buy and enjoy wines that are not estate grown (e.g. ESJ).

One thing I do think that should be mentioned is that with wineries in places such as Germany, it's often (mostly?) the case that the vineyards have been a part of the family or winery for generation/hundreds of years. This makes it a little easier to do the whole estate grown dance. For newer wineries that are not heavily capitalized (e.g. Rhys), and thus able to buy or plant their own sites this is much more difficult. Yet, if they can fine a passionate grower of grapes to work with the wines are no less good.

Overall, I'd say yes, it is, for the simple feeling that one has control over the whole process of making wine, from the vines into the wine. I think there is a spiritual connection of sorts when someone goes through each vintage and knows the limitations and greatness of what they can produce. Saying this, of course there are negociant wines I buy and happily drink, but the connection of being tied to one single place and making singular wines from there is a strong pull.