Because wine labels are usually written in a foreign language, people always complain that they don’t know what it says on the label, which is a big problem. What if they buy something they don’t like!
If you know most of the world’s wine regions, wineries and grape varieties, then reading wine labels is no problem. What about those wine beginners? I’m afraid I can’t learn that much systematically in a short period of time. Today, the purpose of this article is to teach new wine lovers how to read wine labels.
What’s on the label?
Depending on the method of naming the wine, there are two types of wine labels: one named after the brand and the other named after the place of origin (e.g. AOC and vdqs in France, DOC and docg in Italy, QBA and QMP in Germany, etc.). Wines named after the brand will be labeled with the grape variety on the front label. Wines named after their place of origin will indicate the quality of their wine by the grade of origin on the front label.
In general, the five basic elements of a wine label include producer/winery/estate, region, variety/production area, vintage/NV, and abv.
What do you look for when reading a wine label?
Perhaps the first thing we look for when we see a bottle of wine is its name. But if it’s not a world-renowned brand, or if the name of the wine has nothing to do with the vineyard, winery, etc., then you won’t get any information from the name of the wine at all.
For example, can you get information about the producer, region and grape variety from the names of “just for the love of it” and “poker face” wines from sine qua non in the state? Can you get information about the producer, region and grape variety from these two names?
01
Year
The vintage refers to the year in which the wine was harvested. Familiarizing yourself with the different vintages will help you learn more about the wine. It varies from year to year for different wine producing regions. The best vintages in Bordeaux, France are 1900, 1921, 1947, 1961, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2003, 2005 and 2009.
In general, non-vintage wines (NV) are not of high quality because most of these wines are blended from several years of wine to enhance the flavor of the wine. The vintage of a wine is usually the year of the bottle. Sometimes the vintage is written on the front or back label, and sometimes there is a separate label on the neck of the bottle to indicate the vintage.
02
Region of production
The region of production information indicates the region where the grapes were produced. Whether it is an Old World region (France, Italy, Spain, Germany and other old European wine producing countries) or a New World region (the United States, Australia, South Africa, Chile, Argentina and other wine producing countries that have grown in the last two or three years), the more specific the region information on the label, the higher the quality of the wine and, of course, the higher the price.
Many wines, both on the front and back of the bottle, are labeled with the region of production.
For example, a wine from a U.S. state will often have the name Napa Valley, Paso Robles, Sonoma, or another region of production on the label. If you don’t know much about the various wine regions and sub-regions of production in the world, you can find “appeal d’origin contr?Lee” (AOC), “denominazione Di origin controllata “(DOC) and other words. These words indicate the place of origin, and usually the first line of these words is the place of origin of the bottle of wine.
Some wines are also marked with the vineyard of their selected grapes. This indicates that all the grapes that make up the bottle of wine came from the same vineyard. If the vineyard will be marked, it means that the grapes produced in this vineyard are unique and the wine produced is of high quality.
03
Producer (winery, estate)
This information tells you where the wine was produced. In some New World regions, such as the United States, it is usually marked prominently on the wine label. In some Old World regions of Europe, a short paragraph is usually added at the top or bottom of the wine label (except in Bordeaux, France, where the winery or estate and its sub-regions are the primary focus of the wine label).
04
Grape variety or region of origin
This information indicates the grape variety used to make the wine. Grape varieties are generally labeled in Oregon, Alsace, Germany, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and other parts of the United States. In Europe, most wines are not labeled by varietal, but by region. In addition, blended wines do not show all blended varieties and their percentage content.
If the varietal is not indicated, it depends on the wine’s country of origin, where the grape variety is fixed according to the nomenclature of origin. Currently, there are 15 countries in the world that have legal terms of origin, but the degree of implementation and specific measures vary. Generally speaking, wines from these legal regions of origin, recognized by the government, are of higher quality and more distinctive.
05
Alcohol content
Alcohol content actually includes a lot of information, such as wine grade, wine style, etc. For example, in the Old World, wines with an alcohol content of 13.5% or higher are usually of higher quality. New World wines, such as those from the United States, have high alcohol content. They are usually made from more ripe grapes. Often, they have a richer fruit flavor, but the flavor is relatively less prominent.
Wine Labels in Different Countries
Since different countries have different terminology and traditions, it is difficult to summarize. Here are some pointers to help you understand wine labels in different countries and regions.
France: Look for the term “connoisseur …… controller”, which indicates the wine region of production. The text in the apostrophe is the name of the wine region. You may be confused about the vineyards and sub-regions on some wine labels, so you should get to know the French vineyards properly.
