How to Read a Wine Label

The wine aisle can be an intimidating place if you don’t know how to read a wine label. Its actually easier than you might think.

Emerging out of the 1960s, California vintners led by Robert Mondavi started to label their wines by grape varietal rather than the generic terms previously used such as “Hearty Burgundy” or “Chablis”. The decision simplified the understanding of wine for many consumers and the idea was welcomed by wineries around the world. Varietal labeling was especially appealing in New World countries that were trying to market their wines to a new wine consumer that were less familiar with the traditional wine styles of Europe – more often labeled by a region without a grape reference.

Here’s the basic information of any wine label.

1) Producer - All wines will display their name in some form on the front label. Sometimes it will simply be the winery’s name such as Gallo but other times it will be the brand name; or both. A good example of a famous brand is Yellow Tail which is actually the product of a family owned winery called Casella Wines. Wineries often have house styles, so it’s a good idea to become familiar with the name of the winery of wines

2) Place of Origin – All wines label a place of origin or appellation. This can be as large an area as a country or state as in the case of many wines from California but more often than not a more specific region is mentioned; Napa Valley is California’s most famous wine region. In the case of many Old World wine regions, the region (appellation) can be a small as a village and some wine labels in both Old World and New World wine regions sometimes get as specific as providing a vineyard name. The idea of place, is a European notion as traditionally the character of a wine was associated with the place where the grapes were grown rather than by grape variety. To understand many European wines it is important to become familiar with the style of wine produced in the various key regions such as Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rioja and Chianti amongst others. Region is increasingly important in the New World as wineries battle to distinguish their wines from their competitors. You’ll now often see wineries from Australia to Argentina proudly announcing a wine region (appellation) on their label.

3) Vintage – Most wines are labeled as vintage, although some wines are not. These latter wines, known as non-vintage wines, are made from grapes harvested over two or more vintages. The idea of blending wines from multiple vintage is used both by large wineries who want to ensure a consistent house style for their wine and also notably by Champagne producers seeking to create more complexity as well as a house style by blending wines from multiple vintages.

Vintage is important in many of the best wine regions. The best wines are made from grapes grown over a long season as this allows the grapes’ to achieve a balance of rich sugar content, acidity and the time required to development complex phenolic (the components of a wine that provide aroma) character. In these regions, the quality of the vintage is very important. In some regions, notably Bordeaux, the quality of the vintage even dictates the price of the wine. Many wine magazines and on-line wine resources provide guides to the quality of the vintage in premium wine growing regions around the world.

However, if you like value priced wines from grapes grown in very warm regions such as the central part of California or Southeastern Australia, for example, vintage is less important. In these regions where year in and year out vintners can count on a warm, sunny growing season there is less variance in the character of the grapes each year. So when buying an inexpensive wine from a warm climate, it is usually not as important to consider the vintage.

4) Grape – Most New World wineries, and increasingly Old World wineries label their wine by grape variety. Grape variety is often the best indication of the style of wine that will be in the bottle. Over the past forty years, consumers have increasingly familiar with the character of Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. It’s a great idea to become familiar with a few grape varieties as your enjoyment of particular grape variety will often allow you the opportunity to explore not only wines labeled with that grape but also lead into a discovery of Old World wine regions.

While many Old World wine regions make wines from a blend of grapes others are made predominantly from a single varietal. Do you like the plum fruit flavours of Merlot? Then you might enjoy a red wine from Bordeaux’s St. Emilion region, which are wines made predominantly from Merlot. Do you love Sauvignon Blanc? Try a Sancerre from France’s Loire region which is also made from this zesty white grape.

If you don’t know what grape is used to make the wine or interested in learning the value of a wine made from multiple wine varietals, ask one of the knowledgeable staff at your wine store for some assistance. You can also turn to the back label for information as wines from Old World wine regions are increasing providing information on the grapes used to make the wine via the back label.

5) The Other Information – On every bottle of wine you will notice other information such as the size of the bottle (most often 750 ml) and alcohol percentage. The alcohol percentage can be a key indication of the style of wine. Alcohol provides weight to a wine so more often than not a fuller bodied wine will have an alcohol percentage exceeding 13%, while lighter styles are in the 10-13% range.

6) Learning the Lingo – There are number of other key words found on wine labels around the world. Here are just a few to help become a wine label expert.

Appellation of Origin – Most European countries rely on an appellation system. This system dictates the grapes to be used, minimum alcohol percentage, yield, geographical boundaries and sometimes the winemaking techniques used to make the wine. If you see AOC (France), DOC (Italy) or DO (Spain) you can be assured the wine has met some standards to achieve this recognition.

Estate Bottled – Estate Bottled means the wine has been made from grapes grown by the winery and bottled in the winery’s own facilities.

Old Vines - Some of the best wines in the world are made from old vines that produce a very small amount of grapes. This lack of grape production means all the vines energy is going into those few grapes, meaning they have more character. When used appropriately, old vines is a great indication the wine will have concentrated and complex flavours. However since there is no legal definition of the phrase, be careful before purchasing exclusively on the old vines tag. Do a little on-line research about the winery.

Reserve – This is a tricky term. Be careful in New World wine regions where there are no regulations governing the meaning of reserve. In Old World countries such as Italy, the term Riserva is allowed when the wineries age their wine for additional time in wood and or bottle.