FAQ
94 answered questions53 official
Rules questions from the BoardGameGeek forum. Answers marked Official were confirmed by Eagle-Gryphon Games or the designers.
Common mistakes
- Spending Renown cubes a sale or export does not need — only the cubes needed to reach the chosen slot may be removed. Ruling · Rule
- Taking back more than one barrel in Maintenance — exactly one comes back from the Sales area each year. Ruling · Rule
- Discarding several Experts of the same feature at a Press Release — one per feature shown on the Vintage tile. Ruling · Rule
- Taking a region bonus again for the second Vineyard of the same Estate — only a Vineyard that opens a new Estate gives it. Ruling · Rule
- Keeping unbought Magnate tiles on the display after a Fair — they are discarded and the display is refilled. Ruling · Rule
- Flipping tiles face up before the final action, or issuing a Press Release in it — nothing flips after the third Fair and no Fair is left. Ruling · Rule
- Staying on the Pass / Press Release space while another action is possible — you must move. Ruling · Rule
- Using a Wine Expert or Magnate tile in the middle of an action, such as taking a barrel back between two sales — only before or after the main action. Ruling · Rule
Showing 94 of 94
Do you pay for your initial Vineyard, and do you still get its Renown cube and region bonus? Official
In Special Vintage 2016 the initial Vineyard is free; you still put a Renown cube in that region, move your disc to the map and receive the region's bonus. In the 2010 Reserve you do pay for it.
Source: BGG thread
Which Wine tile do you start with, and does the Vintage tile change it? Official
Every initial Vineyard gives one Wine tile of value 2, placed in the leftmost slot of that Estate's Warehouse. Lisboa and Ribatejo start you with a 3 instead; Douro lets you spend one of its two Porto tiles straight away to start with a 5; Dão puts the wine in its free Cellar. The Vintage tile is not used for this starting wine. The 5 for Douro means discarding that Porto tile.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
How is the turn order for the first year chosen?
At random — draw the Player Order discs blind, roll a die, anything random. Only the 2010 Reserve reorders players by the regions of their initial Vineyards.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Where do the Cellars and Wineries that region bonuses give come from?
From the board: the Cellars and Wineries placed at setup are the only ones in the game, and none are set aside for Dão or Lisboa. If the board runs out, the bonus is lost.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
How are the Vineyard tiles prepared, and may players look at the colours down a stack? Official
Shuffle each region's 4 tiles separately and put them on their inset. The colour band shows on the edges of the stack; that is not a secret — the order of the pile is meant to be visible. (Official — publisher confirmed: designer Vital Lacerda)
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
How many Vintage tiles are used?
Six, one per year. In Special Vintage 2016 the “0” tile goes back to the box and the first year's tile is turned up during setup, which is why the first Start of Year is skipped.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can I stay on the Pass / Press Release space instead of moving?
Only if you cannot take any other action. If you can pay for and perform any action somewhere else, you must move; leaving the centre is free because every space is adjacent to it (you still pay players already there and the tax if the Year/Taxation marker is there).
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
After I pass, can I move again on my next turn?
Yes. Passing does not take you out of the year; next turn you move elsewhere as usual.
Source: BGG thread
When does the new turn order from Pass / Press Release take effect? Official
Moving your Player Order marker to the bottom row only reserves the slot. The order is adjusted once everybody has taken that action (first or second of the year), so it applies to the next action or, after the second action, to the Fair. You may choose any empty slot, not only first.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
In a 2-player game, if I pass first for my first action, do I then take two turns in a row?
Yes: you become first for the second action, so your two actions come back to back.
Source: BGG thread
Do Action Markers go back to the centre at the end of a year or before a Fair? Official
No. They stay where they are through Production, Maintenance and the Fair; a last-minute Press Release at the Fair does not move them either.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
I am out of money and blocked from every action — what can I do? Official
It happens. Wine Experts that give Bagos, the 3-Bagos Fair booth and choosing a turn-order slot that lets you reach the Sales space without paying are the ways out; the 2010 Reserve is much harder on money than Special Vintage 2016.
Source: BGG thread
What do the ×1 and ×2 on the action spaces mean?
How many items that action lets you take: one or two Vineyards, Wineries, workers, Cellars, sales, exports or Experts.
Source: BGG thread
Can one Sales or Export action place both wines in the same establishment or country?
Yes. The two wines may come from different Estates and colours and go to any empty slots, including two slots of the same export column in one action — useful for a majority. In Special Vintage 2016 the limit is two wines per action.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Can I open several Estates in the same region? Official
Yes — up to four, one Vineyard each, and each new Estate gets the region's bonus. A second Vineyard in the same Estate never gives the bonus again.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Does an Estate with two Vineyards or two Wineries produce two wines?
No. Each Estate produces one wine a year; extra Vineyards, Wineries and workers only raise its quality. So you make at most five wines a year.
Source: BGG thread
Can one Enologists / Farmers action hire two of each?
No: 1 or 2 workers in total, in any mix. The rulebook example hires one of each only because the player has one empty Winery and one empty Vineyard. With the Tasting Room pack, Tourists join the same mix.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Is there a limit on how many Wine Experts I hold, or on duplicates?
No limit in Special Vintage 2016, and duplicates are fine. (The 2010 Reserve caps you at 6.)
Source: BGG thread
In Maintenance, may I take back more than one barrel? Official
No: exactly one, if you have any in the Sales area. The 2010 Reserve handles barrels differently. Page 2 of the rulebook says “at least one”; the designer confirmed that is a misprint and the page 13 rule (one barrel) is right.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Can I spend Renown cubes when my wine already reaches the slot I want?
No. Pick the slot first, then remove only the cubes you need to reach its value — up to two per wine. You may aim for a higher slot and spend cubes to reach it, but you may not burn cubes just to deny them to others.
Source: BGG thread
When are Renown cubes added to a region? Official
Only when you buy a Vineyard, Winery or Cellar (one cube per tile, if any are left and the inset has room) and for your initial Vineyard. A free Cellar or Winery from a region bonus adds no cube.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
The region's inset is full when I buy a Winery or Cellar. Do I keep the Renown cube for later? Official
No, you lose it — every time a cube has nowhere to go on the map, it stays in the supply. A cube waiting on a Winery or Cellar of an Estate with no region yet goes back to the supply if the region has no room when the Estate gets its Vineyard.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
What are the discs on the map for?
They show who has an Estate in each region, and therefore who may spend that region's Renown cubes and whose wines Carolina will accept. They score nothing by themselves.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Do Trás-os-Montes, Minho, Alentejo and Algarve give anything when you open an Estate there? Official
Not an item: their effects are ongoing (Fair points, no Cellar, double-value cubes, +1 Wine Value). Like every region they never double with a second Vineyard in the same Estate.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Is the region bonus only for the initial Vineyard? Official
No. You get it every time a Vineyard opens a new Estate, during setup or later — never for the second Vineyard of an Estate.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Where do spent Porto tiles go?
Back to the Douro inset, ready for the next player who opens a Douro Estate. (Official — publisher confirmed: designer Vital Lacerda)
Source: BGG thread
Does a Douro wine always get +3, and can I stack Porto tiles?
Only when you discard a Porto tile during Production, and only one tile per wine. You may keep your tiles for a better (or a disastrous) year. Porto is a production bonus: it never raises the value of a wine you sell or export.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Can I move Porto tiles between my Douro Estates? Official
The rules don't say. The designer advises keeping each Porto tile on the Estate that received it: moving them between Douro Estates proved too strong in playtests. They only ever improve Douro wine.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Do Enologists and Farmers improve wine already made?
No, only wine produced afterwards. You can move them between your Estates at the start of Production.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can an Estate produce nothing?
Yes. With a −1 or −2 Vintage tile a weak Estate can reach 0 Quality and produce no wine; there are no 0 Wine tiles. The 1 and 2 Wine tiles exist for those bad years.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Is production done in turn order?
Everyone can produce at once; only choices such as spending a Porto tile could matter, so use turn order if anyone wants to wait and see.
Source: BGG thread
Does a Vineyard I buy during the game give me a Wine tile at once? Official
No. Only the initial Vineyards give a Wine tile, at setup — as if the game began just after a harvest. A Vineyard you buy later makes wine at the next Production.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
How many Wine Expert abilities can I use in a turn, and when? Official
One per turn in Special Vintage 2016 (the 2010 Reserve allows as many as you like), plus one Magnate Action tile. Abilities and Magnate tiles are used only during your turns in the Actions phase, never during the Fair. You may use an Expert you bought earlier in the same turn.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Does the free-movement Expert cancel every cost of the move? Official
Yes: no distance cost, no tax, nothing to other players.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Which barrels can the retrieve-a-barrel Expert take back? Official
Only your own, from the Sales area, the Export area or a Multiplier tile — never from the Magnates area. Export points already scored stay; a Multiplier tile left without a barrel scores nothing. (Official — publisher confirmed: designer Vital Lacerda, for the Export area)
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
How many times does the rearrange-Vineyards Expert work? Official
Once, on one region's stack, with a Vineyards action — before you buy (to put the tile you want on top) or after (to set the order of the rest), never in the middle. It is meant to help its owner; players may agree before the game whether it may also be used against others.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can I use a Wine Expert or a Magnate Action tile in the middle of an action — for example take a barrel back between my two sales? Official
No. Use them before or after the main action, never during it: sell, then take the barrel back — or take it back, then sell. An Expert that improves the action itself (a cheaper Vineyard, a better sale) applies to it, and may be combined with a Magnate Action tile that performs the same action.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
How many Wine Experts can I discard for Fair Points at a Press Release?
One per wine feature shown on the current Vintage tile — usually two. Each earns as many Fair Points as that feature's symbols on the Vintage tile, +1 if the Expert has the arrow symbol. (Official — publisher confirmed: designer Vital Lacerda)
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Can I discard an Expert I just took from a Fair booth? Official
Yes. You choose your booth first and then send Experts to the Fair, so an Expert from the booth can be discarded at once.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can I issue a Press Release in the first year?
Not as your first action: you start on the centre space and must move. A ruling from Vital Lacerda passed on by a rulebook editor forbids a Press Release in year 1 in every version; the printed rules do not say so.
Source: BGG thread
Must I present a wine at the Fair if I never issued a Press Release?
Yes, if you have one: you present it at the start of the Fair, in turn order, following the Press Release steps. With no wine at all you sit the Fair out — no booth, no Fair VP.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Do Wine Experts raise my wine's Value for Bruno? Official
No. Experts earn Fair Points; only Renown cubes (and Cellar aging) raise a wine's Value, so add a cube to reach Bruno's minimum.
Source: BGG thread
Do Fair Points go past 40, and do they reset after a Fair? Official
They keep counting beyond 40 and never reset: the ranking at every Fair uses your running total.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Why would I ever not take a barrel from a Magnate my wine satisfies?
Usually you take it. The choice matters when your wine pleases all three: you may take only two barrels, so keep the one whose Magnate is least likely to want your wines later.
Source: BGG thread
With two players, what does the second player score at a Fair?
The 3rd-place value: 3, 4 and 5 VP at the three Fairs.
Source: BGG thread
How are ties at the Fair settled? Official
The tied players share the VP of the places they occupy, rounded down. Players tied for last in a 4-player game each take a Wine Expert, in turn order — even all four. The rulebook's example on page 15 names the wrong tied colours: the two players tied for third both take an Expert.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
What happens to Magnate tiles nobody bought?
They are discarded after every Fair, and the display is refilled from the Magnate deck (Action tiles first). There are only three buying rounds, so leftovers never come back.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
How many Magnate tiles can I buy after a Fair?
As many as you can pay for, one per turn round the table: each costs one Wine tile, and a Multiplier tile also needs a free barrel. Once you pass you are out until the next Fair. You buy after all three Fairs.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can I own an Action tile and a Multiplier tile showing the same icon? Official
Yes. What is forbidden is two identical tiles of the same kind — two of the same Action tile, or both Multiplier tiles that score the same thing.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Is a Magnate Action tile an extra action or a discount on the board action?
An extra action, taken before you move or before or after your main action — never in the middle of it.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can I take a Multiplier tile just to deny it, without a barrel?
No. A Multiplier tile always needs a barrel from your supply, so denying one costs you a barrel.
Source: BGG thread
Which tiles make up the 2-player Multiplier deck?
The 10 tiles with the filigree (curly ornament) around the multiplier — some are 3× and 4×, not only 2× — plus the export-majority and money tiles. Page 5 of the Reference Book shows all 12.
Source: BGG thread
Does the Multiplier tile that scores Wine Experts have a maximum? Official
Yes, since a later change by the designer: it scores at most 16 VP. Eagle-Gryphon promised a corrected tile for any reprint. The tile that scores your Magnate tiles has no maximum.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
What can I do in the one more action after the last Fair? Official
You move as on any turn — to another space, paying 1 Bago for each piece already there — and take that action, plus one Wine Expert ability and one Magnate Action tile, as on any turn — but nothing flips face up after the third Fair, the Vintage tile does not change, and you cannot issue a Press Release because no Fair is coming.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Is the third Fair different from the first two? Official
No: same ranking, same barrels from the Magnates, same tile buying. The only difference is that nothing flips face up afterwards.
Source: BGG thread
How many VP does money give at the end?
The rulebook's own example gives 3 VP for 6 Bagos, 7 VP for 14 and 18 VP for both 20 and 25 Bagos: 20 is the top of the table. A forum answer lists the steps as 5, 10, 15 and 20 Bagos for 3, 7, 12 and 20 VP — check the value printed on your board for 15 and 20.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Who goes first in a solo game?
You do; Lacerda's position changes only through Pass / Press Release, like any player's.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Lacerda draws the action of the space he is already on. Does he draw again? Official
No, he takes that action.
Source: BGG thread
Lacerda draws Export or Sales but has no barrels left — does he still take my Renown cubes? Official
No. The action does nothing at all.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can Bago “bribes” pile up on several spaces, and can I use a Magnate tile and an Expert on each of my two actions? Official
Yes to both: one Bago per space at most, on any space but the centre; and since your two actions are separate turns, each may use one Expert and one Magnate Action tile. A Fair tie with Lacerda works as in a 2-player game.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Which Wine Experts does Lacerda discard at the Fair?
One per matching feature, like you, choosing the one that earns him most (the arrow symbol first).
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Do the Renown cubes Lacerda takes raise his own wine's value?
No. He simply removes them, and only from your regions (the one with most cubes).
Source: BGG thread
When Lacerda exports with cubes from my Alentejo region, are they worth 1 or 2? Official
2 each, as for any player: Alentejo cubes are worth double. He takes 2 cubes again for his second barrel.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
How many Magnate tiles does Lacerda take after a Fair? Official
He keeps taking them in turn with you until his Number deck runs out, no tiles remain, or he would need a barrel for a Multiplier tile and has none (a ruling by Vital Lacerda quoted on the forum).
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Does Lacerda get the region bonus when he takes the Vineyards action? Official
No. He discards the Vineyard tile and adds a Renown cube to that region — nothing else.
Source: BGG thread
What if a Number card names a region that is not in play? Official
Draw again. Number cards go back into the deck and are reshuffled after every action. The same goes for a region whose Vineyards have all gone: draw until he can act. He still takes only one.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Does Lacerda score the usual end-game VP before accolades are counted?
Yes: score both of you normally (his Multiplier tiles are 10 VP each), then count your accolades.
Source: BGG thread
Can I play solo with the expansions? Official
Yes, except the Islands pack: Lacerda has no rules for the island regions. The other packs do not change how he plays. Lacerda himself always plays by the base rules and never uses expansion components.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
[Reserve] Does the Multiplier that discards a wine score its Quality or its Value? Official
Its Quality — the number on the Wine tile, without Cellar, Renown or Algarve bonuses. The icon is right and the Reference Book text is wrong.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
[Reserve] Do you pay Farmers in Maintenance? Official
No — only Enologists draw a salary.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
[Reserve] Can one Bank action invest several steps, and with money from hand?
Yes: invest as many steps as you can pay, from your Bank account and your hand. (Official — publisher confirmed: designer Vital Lacerda)
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
[Reserve] Is the extra starting money given once per player?
Yes, each player receives the bonus for their position only once — the step is not repeated for every player who chooses a Vineyard.
Source: BGG thread
[Reserve] Can Victory Points go below zero? Official
Yes. In the 2010 Reserve a Bank penalty can take you below 0 VP.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
[Reserve] How many Magnate benefits can I use in a turn, and after the last Fair? Official
One per turn during the Actions phase, and you must be able to perform the action the barrel moves to. After the third Fair players take benefits one at a time in turn order until all have dropped out.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
[Reserve] Two players: does a player who presents a wine worth 0 Fair Points still score second place? Official
Yes. Everyone must present a wine at the Fair, so that player is ranked — second, with the matching VP.
Source: BGG thread
[Reserve] Can Wine Experts stack their discounts?
Yes, several Experts can be flipped in one turn and their Vineyard discounts add up, but not on top of a Magnate benefit's discount.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
[Reserve] Where do Wine Experts discarded at a Fair go?
Collect them, shuffle them and put them under their decks. (A ruling by Vital Lacerda quoted on the forum.)
Source: BGG thread
[Connoisseur] Are the double-sized Cellars and Wineries added to the supply or do they replace tiles? Official
Usually they replace normal tiles: keep the setup numbers and swap base tiles for the doubles. Double Vineyards are added to their region and replace nothing. The designer answered differently twice — add the doubles to a 4-player 2010 Reserve game, use them all at 2 players — so agree on it before play.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
[Connoisseur] How do I get a double-sized tile? Official
Only by taking the matching Quadrel action — never as a Dão or Lisboa bonus, with the Magnate tile that buys a Cellar for 1 Bago, or by upgrading a tile you already own. You may hold only one of each double tile, and one action may buy a normal and a double tile together. A double Vineyard belongs to the region where you place it, so it can't be the second Vineyard bought for a new Estate in that same action.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
[Connoisseur] What happens in a Phylloxerae year? Official
No wine is produced that year. Wines already made still age one slot during Production.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
[Experts] Does The Salesmen's extra Bago go to your hand? Official
In Special Vintage 2016, yes — the tile was designed for it. In the 2010 Reserve it goes to the Bank with the sale money.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
[Experts] Can I use the Expert I get from The Public Relations in the same turn?
It arrives face up, but you have already used your one Expert this turn, so it waits for a later turn.
Source: BGG thread
[Experts] How many Magnate tiles can The Advertisers take? Official
One tile per Advertisers Expert. The sheet says Magnate Action tiles; the designer plays that it may take any Magnate tile.
Source: BGG thread
[Experts] Can The Spies copy an opponent's Expert that has already been used? Official
No, only a face-up one — an owner may flip theirs just to deny it. Your copied Expert stays face up for its owner; you flip your Spies. They may copy an opponent's Advertisers in the Magnate buying phase, the one way to combine the two.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
[Islands] How many regions do you use with the islands? Official
The usual number for the player count: the islands replace mainland regions, they are not added. You need not add both islands to the same game.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
[Islands] Is Madeira's Bago paid to your hand? Official
Yes, it is cash (also in the 2010 Reserve, where the icon shows cash, not the Bank).
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
[Islands] Can the retrieve-a-barrel Expert take back the Açores barrel?
Yes, it may take it back from the Açores Warehouse.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
[Islands] Is the Açores free export compulsory? Official
It happens as soon as a wine reaches the third slot of the Açores Warehouse, but you may decline it and wait for another wine. The barrel stays on the Açores for that export only.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
[Islands] What do I get for a second Açores Estate? Official
Another 3-space Warehouse, but no second barrel (there is one per player). The Warehouse takes the Cellar's space, so that Estate can't have a Cellar.
Source: BGG thread
[Islands] What colour does an Açores Estate with a Winery make? Official
Any colour you choose: ignore the Winery's colour.
Source: BGG thread
[Islands] Does the Açores barrel count for the Multiplier that scores freed barrels? Official
No. That tile counts only barrels taken back from the Magnates — at most 6.
Source: BGG thread
[Tasting] What is the double-sided hire tile for?
It covers the Enologists space of the Quadrel when you play with Tourists: one side (Special Vintage 2016) hires Enologists, Farmers or Tourists, the other (2010 Reserve) Enologists or Tourists.
Source: BGG thread
[Tasting] Why would a Tourist ever stand outside a Cellar?
It has no effect there; it may wait in any Estate until Production, when you can move it into a Cellar.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
[Tasting] How many Tourists are in the game with Madeira? Official
As many as Cellars in use, and Madeira's 4 are part of that number, not extra: with 8 Cellars, 4 stand on Madeira and 4 can be hired. A Cellar holds one Tourist.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread