Wine Label Decoding

1 • Alcohol Content
Standards differ from one country to the next when it comes to alcohol content. The United States requires a minimum level of 7% for table wine and a maximum of 14%. The percentage of alcohol must be put on the label but a small variance of up to 1.5% is acceptable. For sherry or port, the alcohol content is in the range of 17% to 20%.

2 • Appellation or Growing Region
In the case of Old World wines from Europe, the wine's region of origin becomes its default name. For wines from the New World, like the United States, Chile, South Africa, or Australia, the wine name is the grape variety (Shiraz, Zinfandel). If the wine region is held in high esteem, you are apt to find it on the label. But for this to be the case for American wine, 85% of the grapes must derive from certain appellations or American Viticultural Areas.

3 • Bottle Volume
The standard is 750 millilitres or 1.5 litres. You can either find the volume on the label or at the base of the bottle itself.

4 • Name of Wine
In France, Italy and Spain, the name and the region are one and the same. In France, for example, Beaujolais, Bordeaux and Champagne are all names of wines and appellations. Italy, with Chianti, and Spain, with Rioja, are the same. Wines from the United States, South America, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand are another matter. As mentioned above, the grapes get most of the credit, along with the vineyard. Gallo of Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon, for example.

5 • Producer
If you know enough about wines, the producer can tell you more about the contents of the bottle than anything else. The more experience you have with wines, the more familiar you become with the quality being put out by the producers on the market. Now the name of a producer differs again by country. In France, it can be a Château in Bordeaux or a Domaine in Burgundy. Germany, Italy and Spain have Estates but again, the precise name is crucial because, in many instances, producers share surnames and quality can vary from one to the next.

6 • Quality of Wine
Appellations or wine regions have their own rating systems that attempt to imply the quality of the wine to the consumer. They do sometimes make an appearance on the bottle label, but not always.

7 • Type of Wine
Basic type information like "white table wine" or "dry red wine."

8 • Variety
Variety is the type of grape the wine was made with, otherwise known as varietal content. France and Italy do not divulge this information. Regions in those two nations must make wine from traditional grape types: Cabernet Sauvignon in Bordeaux and Sangiovese in Chianti, for example. While most nations permit the use of outside varietals in a blend, it cannot be more than 15% of the wine (25% in the United States).

9 • Vintage
Vintage denotes the year of harvest, not the year when the wine was put into bottles. The majority of laws from country to country stipulate that at least 85% of the wine must derive from grapes harvested in the year of the vintage. The rest can be a blend of wine from other years.