![\"Requirements](\"https:\/\/www.winery-sage.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Wine-Labels-Side-By-Side.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
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- Wine Bottle Labels. How Many items Listed Below Can You Find?<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
How do you read a wine label?\u00a0 What are the real facts about the wine and what\u2019s just marketing glitz?\u00a0 Is there any way to ensure that a wine is good from the label on the bottle?\u00a0 These are the most common questions asked by wine novices.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t have access to the wine maker or at least a web site that describes the wine, the wine bottle label is probably the only thing left, so you need to know what’s important and what’s just a distraction.\u00a0 We\u2019ve listed a number of terms that usually appear on a wine bottle label and for those of you with attention spans that are measured in milliseconds, we\u2019ve ordered them from most commonly asked to least commonly asked.<\/p>\n
Most of the terms below are either required by law or virtually demanded by the consumer who wants to know what is inside a bottle.<\/p>\n
Winery Name (Or Sometimes a Brand Name)
\n<\/strong>The name on a wine label is usually the name of the Winery that makes the wine, but it can also be a brand name of a wine produced by a larger winery.\u00a0 For instance, Bronco Wine Company owns over 50 wine labels, perhaps the most famous of which is Charles Shaw Wines, otherwise known as \u201cTwo Buck Chuck\u201d.\u00a0 Despite its notoriety however, Charles Shaw is not actually a winery at all but just a label for a recipe of wine produced by Bronco Wines.\u00a0 According to the TTB (the branch of the US government that regulates alcohol sales, the ever so creatively named Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau), brand names must be clear and not misleading about the age, identity, origin or other characteristics of the wine. \u00a0This really must mess with the creative marketers who rarely let something as trivial as fact stand in their way of a great story.<\/p>\nType of Wine \u2013 Either a Varietal or Blend<\/strong>
\nMost wines produced and sold in supermarkets are Varietals meaning they have primarily one type of wine grape in them.\u00a0 In order to have the wine label call out a Varietal name as the type of wine, it must contain at least 75% of that grape.\u00a0 Other grapes can be used to enhance the flavor.\u00a0 In Europe and particularly in France, the region from where the wine comes is more important than the Varietal or Varietals from which it is made. \u00a0Therefore regions like Bordeaux or Burgundy will often be named in the wine label instead of a Varietal like Merlot<\/a> or Pinot Noir<\/a>. \u00a0If the wine label does not designate a Varietal, other terms can be used such as White Wine, Red Wine, Table Wine, Rose Wine.\u00a0 Table wines in particular connote bad quality wines but there are many wine makers that venture outside the norm when creating blends so that every characteristic of the grapes are balanced to achieve a great flavor.\u00a0 Many wineries create wine blends using the same Varietals as the Classic Bordeaux blends that are designated as Red Table Wines but are exceptional.<\/p>\nVintage Date<\/strong>
\nThe Vintage Date on a wine label indicates what year the grapes were harvested, not when the wine was bottled which is a common misconception, but from here, things start to get a little more complex.\u00a0 Are you ready?\u00a0 A Vintage Date can only be shown on a label if a growing area, in the US, usually a state or AVA is also shown.\u00a0 If the designation is a State, then 85% of the wine must be from that year and State.\u00a0 If an AVA is used, 95% of the grapes must be from that year and from the designated AVA.\u00a0 So that begs another question.\u00a0 What is an AVA?<\/a>\u00a0 Many people call them Appellations but the correct term in the US is AVA, which stands for American Viticultural Area.\u00a0 We have a write-up on it on our main site<\/a>.\u00a0 If there is no Vintage date printed on the wine label, then the wine probably contains grapes harvested in different years or AVAs so that they no longer can claim a specific year as the vintage.<\/p>\nBy the way\u2026have you every heard a \u201cknow-it-all\u201d proclaim\u2026\u201dAh\u202619XX, that was a great year?\u201d\u00a0 Don\u2019t read too much into the Vintage Date on a label unless you know a few other facts about the wine.\u00a0 A great year in the US might have been miserable in France.\u00a0 Even areas within a state can experience widely varying conditions.\u00a0 Napa might have a great year because rainfall and sun were perfectly in balance while Santa Barbara might be miserable because there was a drought or cooler weather.<\/p>\n
Origin<\/strong>
\nThis is where the grapes were grown.\u00a0 It can be a wine related region like an AVA or could be a political boundary such as a County, State or Country.\u00a0 If a political region of origin is called out (a County or State usually), then 75% of the wine must have come from that region.\u00a0 If an AVA is called out, then 85% of the grapes must have originated in that area designated on the wine label.<\/p>\nName and Address<\/strong>
\nThis information is required to be printed on the wine label of all wine sold in the US.\u00a0 Two qualifiers can be used as well.\u00a0 If the term \u201cProduced\u201d is used in conjunction with the address; it means that at least 75% was fermented at that address.\u00a0 If the term \u201cVinted\u201d is used, it means that 75% of the wine was cellared at the address.<\/p>\nNet Contents<\/strong>
\nThe wine label must clearly indicate how much wine is in the container (and please let the container be a bottle, not a box \u2013 if you are buying boxed wine, just quit reading now).\u00a0 There may be a time when good wines are produced in boxes but for now, the terms \u201cgood wine” and “box” have about as much in common as the words “honesty” and “politician”.<\/p>\nAlcohol Content and Warning Label<\/strong>
\nThe alcohol content must be printed on the label of the wine.\u00a0 It is usually expressed as a percent by volume and unlike what virtually every college student would like to believe, more alcohol does not mean better: quite the contrary in most cases.\u00a0 French wines tend to run 1% to 2% less alcohol then US wines.\u00a0 If the Alcohol content of a wine is getting above 14.5%, the wine is often called \u201chot\u201d and the concern is that the alcohol can overwhelm the other flavors in the wine. \u00a0The grapes from most US wineries are riper than their European counterparts, which usually leads to a higher alcohol level in the wine.<\/p>\nThe one exception to the alcohol by volume declaration is when the wine is labeled as Table Wine or Light Wine.\u00a0 If these terms are used on a wine label instead of a Varietal declaration and the alcohol content is between 7% and 14%, the exact alcohol level is not required to be printed on the label.<\/p>\n
Sulfite Disclaimer<\/strong>
\nVirtually every wine contains sulfites so the wine label must call out sulfites as a content if the wine may be sold in any interstate commerce.\u00a0 FYI for those of you who feel that sulfites cause headaches, we have a post on this subject<\/a>. \u00a0Sulfites are rarely the cause of wine headaches.<\/p>\nGovernment Warning<\/strong>
\n\u2026and last but not least, the cleverly worded and endlessly entertaining warning mandated by the US Government on any alcoholic beverage label that is greater than .5% by volume.<\/p>\nThat’s the list of what is required to be listed on a wine label.\u00a0 However, when the marketers get turned loose on the labels, things can get “interesting”.\u00a0\u00a0 Part two of our wine label posts dives into the other terms often found on wine labels, sometimes informative and sometimes confusing.<\/p>\n
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About Winery-Sage.com<\/strong><\/h5>\n
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<\/strong>Winery-Sage is an online Winery Encyclopedia designed to help you compare wines, wineries, and regions by using a unique database. Cross-reference varietals and the wineries that produce them, as well as discover events sponsored by wineries and associations. We\u2019re not here to sell you anything or pass you off to paid advertisers, just share the love for wine. Discover California wines at\u00a0Winery-Sage.com<\/a>.<\/h5>\n
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