Have you ever found yourself in a wine store, surrounded by all this great wine, but you have no idea what is what? Wine labels can be very confusing to figure out, especially when a lot of the wine is from regions that speak languages we don't know, and use different classification systems from region to region.
Here's a little cheat sheet to help you dissect and understand wine labels:
The wine is either identified by the grape name or by the place of origin.
- Certain regions have strict rules that govern what grapes they are allowed to grow in that region, meaning by listing the region name, you know what kind of wine is in the bottle.
Example: Champagne: Champagne is a region in France and Champagne can only be made with 3 grapes (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier) so the bottle says the region name and you can infer that some amount of any of those 3 grapes are in that bottle.
Example: Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: You will never see a wine that simply says "Napa Valley" with no grape also listed (Of course it could say Red Blend, telling you it's a blend of different grapes). This is because Napa Valley has no restrictions on what grapes can be grown there, so they need to tell us what grape is in the bottle.
The Producer listed is who made the wine.
- The producer can be listed anywhere on the bottle, sometimes in big print, sometimes in small. In the labels above, the producers are Taittinger and Freemark Abbey, in the label below the producer is Lucien Le Moine.
Usually the more focused the region, the higher quality wine you have
- Many countries have classification systems to distinguish the greatest wine from the simple table wine, with different tiers of quality. Each country does it a little differently, but the general rule of thumb is, the more focused the region you see on the label, the higher quality of the wine.
Example: In the label above the specific vineyard site is "Montmains' which is a Premier Cru site in Chablis (A region in France). Premier Cru in Chablis is the second highest classification.
- In the label below, only the area "Chablis" is written, meaning the grapes could've come from anywhere in the Chablis region and not a specific noteworthy site.
Here's a quick run down of classification systems in different countries:
Bordeaux, France:
- Established by the 1855 classification of Napoleon III, all chateaus (Wine Estates) were divided up into 5 growths. The First Growth being the best, down to Fifth Growth, and then those that aren't Classified. So in French it looks like this on a wine label:
1: Premier Cru - First Growth
2: Deuxièmes Crus - Second Growth
3. Troisièmes Crus - Third Growth
4. Quatrièmes Crus - Fourth Growth
5. Cinquièmes Crus - Fifth Growth
The Rest of France:
- Now a little confusing, Bordeaux is the only place where Premier Cru is the best, most everywhere else in France, Grand Cru (Best Growth) signifies the best and Premier Cru signifies the second best.
The rest of the wine is classified as follows.
1. AOC - (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée) - indicates the wine came from a specific grape growing region and has to adhere to the rules for allowed grapes, growing conditions and quality. In the above label it's listed as Appellation Cotes Du Rhone Villages Contrôlée which tells us this is a basic village wine from the Appellation Cotes du Rhone.
2. Vin De Pays (Wine of the Land) or IGP (Indication Geographique Protégée) - A Slightly larger area with less regulations than the AOC.
3. Vin De France - Basic level of French wine - can be from anywhere in France.
Italy:
1. DOCG - (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) - highest classification
2. DOC - (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) - Second highest, main tier
3. IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) - Focuses on region of origin, and not as many rules as to wine styles and grapes used as DOC and DOCG
4. Vino de Tavola: (Table Wine) - basic level of Italian wine
Spain:
1. DOC - (Denominación de Origen Calificada) - Highest Classification
2. DO - (Denominación de Origen) - Second Highest
3. Vino de la Tierra (Wine of the Land) - Wines that are not in DO - established regions. Can offer great value and quality since they are not confined to strict government regulation.
4. Vino de Mesa (Table Wine) - Basic level of Spanish wine
Rioja, Spain:
- Rioja, known for Tempranillo and Grenache, has it's own quality tiers. Each level requires higher quality grapes and longer oak and barrel aging.
1. Gran Reserva - Highest Qualification, requires 2 year barrel aging and 3 years bottle aging
2. Reserva - Middle tier, requires 1 year barrel aging and 2 years bottle aging
3. Crianza - Easygoing, everyday wine, requires 1 year barrel aging and 1 year in bottle
Non-Vintage vs Vintage
- The Vintage is the year the grapes were harvested. Many wines will have the year listed on the bottle, which is helpful to know for aging purposes. Some vintages are also known to be better than others based on the weather's influence on the grapes that year.
-Some wines will not have any year listed meaning they are non-vintage. They can pull grapes from lots of different years to create a consistent flavor profile.
Alcohol by Volume (ABV)
- ABV is the amount of alcohol in the wine. Alcohol actually has a big effect in taste as well. The higher the alcohol, the fuller, riper wine it is. The lower the alcohol, the leaner, lighter the wine.
- 11.5% to 13.5% ABV is average to give you an idea of what is high and what is low.
Sweetness Level
- Some wines will have a sweetness level written, letting you know how much residual sugar is in the wine.
- Specifically for Champagne here are the words from very dry to very sweet:
1. Brut Nature - Bone Dry
2. Extra Brut
3. Brut
4. Extra Dry
5. Dry
6. Demi-Sec
.7 Doux - Sweet
Now I could go on and on about many more intricacies of wine labeling, but let's leave it at that for now! Hopefully you can bring this little guide along on your next wine shop exploration and it can help you decode the bottles a little better!
Until then, Happy Drinking!
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