How to read the label in the wine bottle

Wine: deciphering the label

When we pick up a bottle of wine, the first thing we usually check is the label, however, is it any useful to do so? The right answer is, it depends.

Labels can be both misleading and helpful in order to choose wine. When buying wine I always take label information with a pinch of salt: some producers, aiming to increase their sales by confusing shoppers, sometimes add some information to labels which is just misleading, incorrect or simply means nothing apart from in the minds of some buyers who know little about wine.

Some examples are:

Some people associate the word “chateau” in wine labels (especially in French wines) with good quality wine. First, it is just a word, and you can call any wine chateau…. And it means nothing. The true meaning of chateau is castle.

Reserve, Reserva, Riserva and similar are also associated with good quality wines. However with the exception of French, Italian and some Spanish wines (where such words guarantee some maturation times among other things) having that on the label, especially in new world wine labels, means absolutely nothing.

So what to look for in a wine label? Well, there are six main things to look for:

1     Vintage or the year when the wine was produced. This may give you a clue of when is best to drink the wine, especially on certain high quality French wines which reach their best after 10 or 15 years.

2      Grape variety, it will help you to assess the complexity and body of the wine. And some people have preference for particular grapes (Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon being some of the most popular grapes). This may not be present, or in the back label.

   

        Region, will give you hints of the intensity, flavour and style, for example Burgundy wines, Rioja wines or Bordeaux wines.

    Alcohol level: will help you determine the body and sweetness level of the wine. Sweeter and lighter wines do usually have low alcohol levels, while dry and full bodied wines have higher levels of alcohol.

5     Producer: can tell you about the consistency and quality of the wine, as long as you know something about the producer. This may appear at the back.

 

6    

           Name of the wine: Producers have many different wines, this is to identify a particular type. This is only useful if you now the wine.

       Appellation: only for French, Italian and some Spanish wines: indicates it has been subject to some particular regulations (which usually ensure quality).

Having said that, there is no better way to assess the suitability of a wine than trying it, and most shops offer tasting service.