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When I was beginning my wine exploration back in law school, wine labels confused the tar out of me. They are all so different, with no apparent standards to help consumers understand them. It’s little wonder many people don’t venture beyond White Zinfandel or maybe Merlot.
After all this time enjoying wine, however, I’ve learned that labels only seem confusing. Once you know what to look for, a label is not much different from any other label. The label tells you a few key things:
- Who made the wine.
- Where it comes from.
- Usually, what grapes are in it (but not always)
- Usually, when the grapes were harvested (but not always)
The key to understanding and figuring out wine labels is to understand that each country tells you this information in different ways. Fortunately, a lot of countries use a similar method. In fact, we can divide labels into two main groups.
The first group is made up of labels from the so-called New World. The New World consists of countries outside of Europe: the United States, Chile, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa are the major ones. Wines made in these countries come with labels that are pretty standard. These labels are also easier to understand for consumers in these New World countries. What you want to keep in mind is that for most New World wines, the label is all about the grape.
The second group is made up of labels from the so-called Old World. In other words, Europe. To be more specific, we’re talking about France, Germany and Italy as the main players. In a way, the European labels are also somewhat standardized, but for people who are not familiar with Europe, the labels can be more confusing. In contrast to New World labels, the Old World labels are all about the place where the wine was made. Once you know what grapes are grown in those places, it’s pretty simple.
So, let’s talk about New World labels first. These labels are usually very specific about who made the wine, where it comes from, and what grapes were used to make it. Here is an example of a New World label. From this label we can see the name of the winery is Cakebread Cellars. The grape is Cabernet Sauvignon, and it comes from Napa Valley. You might notice that the year of the vintage is missing. Some winemakers put the vintage year on a separate label near the neck of the bottle.
As you can see, this is a nice, straightforward label. We can look at another label from the New World and see if it has any similarities to this one.
This label comes from New Zealand, as it says. It indicates the wine is a Sauvignon Blanc, and it comes from the Marlborough region of New Zealand. The winery is Wild Rock. You can see the word “Elevation” on the label. That is probably a “model name,” kind of like the Chevrolet Corvette or Audi A4. Interestingly, it also does not have the vintage on the label. It may be possible that this label and the Cakebread labels are simply models, and that the actual labels that get put on the bottles have the vintage on them somewhere.
Here is another label, again from California. This one tells us that the winery is St. Francis Winery and Vineyards. The name of the line of wines is Wild Oak. This comes from Sonoma County, California. What’s significant here is that the label refers to “old vines” Zinfandel. Now, in the U.S., laws dictate some things about labels, but not others.
For example, for an American wine to have a geographic location on the label, at least 75% of the grapes in that bottle have to come from that location. With the Wild Oak Zinfandel here, 75% or more of the grapes had to come from Sonoma County. The other grapes could come from anywhere, if they even brought them in from another county.
But there is no law in the U.S. or most of the New World that regulates the use of terms like “old vines,” “reserve,” “select,” or anything like that. Those terms are more often than not simple marketing designed to make you think the product is more special than the “regular” product. In some cases, this might be true. But it’s not always going to be true. When you see a term like “vintner’s selection” or “estate reserve,” don’t automatically assume that you’re getting a better bottle.
By looking at these labels, you can see that the most prominent information is usually the name of the winery and the grapes used. Let’s look at some Old World labels now and see how they compare.
First up, let’s examine this label. As you can see, the name of the winery, Taittinger, is the first thing you notice. You also see that it is a Champagne. But there is no mention of the grapes used to make the wine. This is because in France, people who enjoy wine just “know” what grapes are grown in the Champagne region. For them it is second-nature, something they have learned as a part of growing up in France. In fact, I’m willing to bet that a significant number of French wine drinkers may not have any idea what grapes go into Champagne. They simply know that Champagne is a sparkling wine with certain qualities in terms of flavors. Do any of us really need to know what grapes are used as long as we know what the wine is like? Perhaps not.
The reality, though, is that it helps to know what grapes are used so that you can find similar wines regardless of where they come from. If you know you like Pinot Noir, then you’ll want to know that Pinot Noir is grown in France’s Burgundy region. Thus, red Burgundies would be of interest to you.
And, that’s a perfect segue to this label. This is a label from a white Bugundy. If you were to look at this label from a New World perspective, you might be tempted to conclude that Chassagne-Montrachet is the name of the winery. In fact, it is not the name of the winery. Chassagne-Montrachet is the place in Burgundy where this wine comes from. It’s a village or a town, usually, that appears on the label.
The winery itself is Louis Jadot. Actually, Jadot is not a winery as we think of it. In France, there are companies, called négociants, that basically buy up the wines of various producers and sell them under their own name. Louis Jadot does this, and has built a reputation for quality.
While all of this can seem quite confusing, keep in mind that in Europe, the place of origin is key. The one semi-exception to this is in Bordeaux, where the 1855 Classification focuses on the reputation of the chateau more than the location in Bordeaux. But, the 1855 Classification is imperfect because there are many producers not included who make wines in the same areas.
The best way to understand wine labels, of course, is to dive in and spend some time with them. This lesson is meant only to remove some of the confusion, make you feel a little more comfortable with labels. You will increase your knowledge and understanding of labels as you continue to explore the wine world. It is kind of like studying a foreign language in the sense that the more you speak and read it, the better you understand it. There is simply no substitute for experience.
How do you figure out wine labels? Do you have any tips to share? Leave a comment here or over at our Facebook page.
More Wine For Newbies 101
Lesson 5–Get a good wine glass
Lesson 4–Evaluating wine, part 2
Lesson 3–Evaluating wine, part 1
Lesson 2–Learning to taste wine
Lesson 1–Is learning about wine difficult?
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