A Grapevine Selection Number Is an Identity, Not a Quality Ranking
By Matthew Martinez, Founder, CEO & Managing Broker, Diamond Real Estate Group. California DRE #01869679.
A vineyard planting list can include a familiar variety followed by an unfamiliar number. That number may identify a selection or clone, but it is not a score. For a Sonoma vineyard buyer, reading it as a ranking can turn useful planting information into an unsupported quality claim.
The distinction belongs within buying a vineyard. Variety, source selection and rootstock help describe the biological material in the ground; the planting’s performance requires additional evidence.
FPS explains how its numbers are assigned
UC Davis Foundation Plant Services’ selection explanation says that most FPS selection numbers follow the next available number within a variety. It describes exceptions for some proprietary imported clones and explains why FPS uses the term selection: material originated from a single source vine, while FPS does not conduct formal clonal performance evaluations on every accepted selection.
The implication is concrete. Selection 20 is not automatically twice as good as selection 10, nor is a later number necessarily a newer agronomic improvement. The number belongs to an identification system. Its meaning depends on the source program rather than on its size.
Clonal selection concerns variation within a variety
The OIV’s 2017 clonal-selection resolution explains a clone as vegetative progeny of a single vine and discusses variation within a variety. Selection objectives can involve phenology, yield, quality traits or sensitivity to disease. Its protocol describes comparative evaluation rather than treating a clone name as a universal performance promise.
That framework helps distinguish two statements: the planting is Cabernet Sauvignon, and the planting uses a particular Cabernet selection. The second is more specific about material, but specificity does not eliminate the role of site and management. A precisely identified plant can still perform differently under different growing conditions.
One trait does not define every ownership objective
A hypothetical selection comparison might favor earlier ripening for one production objective, while another objective prioritizes a different cluster structure or yield pattern. Calling one selection best without naming the objective hides that tradeoff. A commercial planting decision combines the desired traits with the vineyard’s conditions and intended wine program.
The same point applies to a buyer inheriting an established vineyard. The existing combination may suit its current management and buyer relationships. Replacing it solely because another number sounds more prestigious would substitute a label for an operating analysis.
Different naming systems require context
FPS’s explanation notes that some imported official clone numbers retain a relationship with the originating program, while other material has FPS numbering and a reported historical association. That is a reason to preserve the full description rather than shortening every entry to an isolated number.
For example, a planting schedule naming only 04 without a variety or source program is incomplete identification. A useful comparison keeps the variety, relevant selection designation and source context together. Those details distinguish what was planted without implying a result the identification system does not measure.
Performance evidence remains a separate layer
A buyer can then connect identity with actual crop history, ripening pattern and the intended operating plan. This is where planting information gains commercial meaning. The question becomes how the identified material has performed in this block and how that performance fits the next owner’s goals.
The careful use of selection terminology does not reduce a vineyard’s story. It makes the story more credible. It separates the provenance of the planting from the evidence of its agricultural performance and avoids promising quality from a number alone.
Explore real estate and home for sale in Sonoma for the wider estate setting. Contact Diamond Group Estates to discuss planting identity and vineyard objectives in a property purchase.
Sources reviewed October 28, 2026: UC Davis FPS’s selection-number explanation and OIV Resolution VITI 564A-2017. This article describes identification and selection concepts, not a recommendation of a particular clone or a finding about any nursery shipment.
