When was the last time you went to a nice restaurant and ordered a bottle of expensive wine? When the waiter or waitress brought it over, did he or she show you the label before uncorking it? Did you understand anything on that label, or did you simply scan it and nod just for show? Many people are at a loss when it comes to reading wine labels, whether it's at a restaurant or in a wine store; to them, it's all just fancy numbers and letters and means no more to them than the chemicals contained in a can of Coke.
If you know a little bit about wines, you're already well on your way to understanding the wine labels. They typically tell you, at a glance, the alcohol content, the growing region, bottle volume, name of the wine, quality and type of wine, the producer, and the variety and vintage.
The alcohol content and bottle volume may be the easiest to recognize on a wine label. The alcohol content is a percentage, usually around 12%-13%. In the U.S., the minimum alcohol for table wine is 7%, and 14% for the maximum. The bottle content is typically listed in milliliters, usually 750, or 1.5 liters. If the volume is not printed on the wine label, it will be on the bottle itself.
The growing region may be a bit difficult since American wines are classified by grape type such as shiraz or zinfandel, whereas many wines from Europe have their growing region as the name of the wine. Just look for both on the wine label and if you only see one, you know it's the growing region on a European wine.
Becoming familiars with producers when it comes to wine may be one of the most important aspects of finding a good bottle, and when you learn some of the best producers you can quickly scan for them on a wine label. While everyone's taste is of course subjective, you can think of a wine producer as being like a movie producer. You're more likely to get a good movie out of a familiar name like Spielberg, Coppola, or Lucas than you will some unfamiliar talent. Being able to recognize wine producers on the wine label will mean that you're more likely to enjoy the contents.
When you see the phrase varietal content on a wine label, know that this is the variety of wine, or type of grape the wine was made with. Remember that France and Italy do not reveal this information on their wine labels, so there may be some confusion.
The quality of wine is something awarded by wine regions and is also as subjective as movie ratings. If you see a rating of quality on a wine label, do not automatically assume that you personally will enjoy it, and remember that some of the less expensive wines are typically just as good as the top of the line brands as well.
Since wine labels have to set standard they have to follow, sometimes the information that is on them depends on factors as subjective as the personal preference of the family or company making the wine. But usually information such as vineyard the wine is from, the year it was made in, the wine type, and percentage of alcohol are included on the label. Even though the labels may not actually say very much, since what is written contains a lot of meaning it can still be hard to interpret them.
A few wine labels change every year to reflect the vintage of production. Some vineyards take great care in producing a new label for every season others simply change the number of the year to maintain consistency from year to year. Long established wines tend to stay with the same label for many years. Also most labels will tell you the country of the wine, the variety of the grape as well as the region the grapes were grown but no standards specifically exist for labeling.
Other than the alcohol and Surgeon General warnings, there are no standard warnings on US wines. Other countries will have their own warning systems based on the laws of that country.
The first thing to look for is the year. You can usually tell a good vintage or year based on price and the location you are purchasing the wine. There may also be differences in the labels. The next thing to look at is alcohol content because this also changes based on the type of wine that you are purchasing or looking at. The label will also tell you the name of the vineyard and often times how long they have been producing wine.
These are personalized wine labels in regards to the actual vineyard since it contains also the awards they have won for many of the various vineyards. There can be hundreds of vineyards especially in particular areas of France that are famous for producing wine. This is one of the reasons why it can be difficult to find out about the type of wine and the vineyard.
Before modern technologies allowed changes labels easily and relatively inexpensively most winemakers only changed the year from season to season on the label. At a quick glance the consumer could easily determine the winery, the variety, and the style of the wine however that is no longer the case. No standardization exists for the content of labels making identification even more difficult. The artwork used on wine labels is unique and can offer an insight into the character of the winemaker.
Both David Cowley & Madge Weeter are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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