The concept of signature wines has become popular in recent years, although its essence—the idea that a wine can be a winemaker’s personal interpretation—has much older roots. Unlike wines that follow well-defined styles dictated by a region or denomination, a signature wine is born from a creative intention: a specific vision of how the vineyard should express itself.
Until the late 20th century, wine was shaped almost entirely by territorial regulations: permitted grape varieties, aging times, production methods… everything was defined. Although wine was indeed conditioned by regional rules, some wineries were already producing wines with unique characteristics within those limits. Over time, some winemakers began experimenting. They wanted to return to ancient techniques, explore very specific plots, or reinterpret tradition from new perspectives.
From that creative drive emerged what we now call a signature wine.
There is no official regulation that determines what is or isn’t a signature wine. Even so, they usually share certain elements:
A personal vision that guides the entire process.
Specific plots that inspire that vision.
Technical freedom to use a wide range of techniques that vary depending on the winemaker and winery.
Limited production, derived from working with very specific vineyards.
The main challenge is that, since it is not regulated, each winery interprets the concept in its own way. Some use it for experimental wines, others for family tributes, and others to explore the essence of a specific estate.
In practice, a signature wine is born when the winemaker decides to go one step beyond the usual. It is not about following a different recipe, but about letting an idea, an emotion, or a particular way of understanding wine lead the way. Sometimes that inspiration arises during harvest, sometimes from the evolution of a vintage, from reflection on the winery’s style, or even from a conversation that shifts perspective. A signature wine can be both innovative and traditional, but what distinguishes it is the creative approach and the winemaker’s unique vision.
In many wineries, that creative impulse translates into projects that explore new ways of winemaking, small variations in fermentation, or decisions aimed at capturing a specific nuance. It is the kind of curiosity that gave life to wines like Pradorey Élite, a project that did not emerge from a single factor, but from a particular way of observing the vineyard and understanding what a wine could express if allowed to speak without being confined to a predetermined style.
But signature wines can also have a more emotional origin. Some wineries conceive them as a space to honor ideas, values, or people who have shaped their history. At Pradorey, that spirit is present in our wine Adaro, created as a tribute to Javier Cremades de Adaro, whose vision inspired a new way of perceiving the estate and its potential. In such wines, technique and landscape converge with the creator and/or winemaker’s idea, adding depth to the project.
These examples show that a signature wine does not follow a single pattern. It can be born from a search, a story, an intuition, or a memory. What they have in common is that they are not made to fit in, but to express something that would otherwise go untold. Some signature wines may fall within the rules of a denomination of origin, yet differ due to the way the creator and/or winemaker chooses to interpret them.
Signature wines are particularly appealing because they bring diversity and originality. They do not seek to conform to a specific style, but to express a personal vision. For curious consumers, they offer the opportunity to discover the personality of a vineyard and of the person who cultivates it.
In essence, a signature wine is not a strict category, but a way of understanding winemaking: freer, more personal, and more narrative. A wine that tells the story of the land, but also of the person who interprets it.
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