How to read a wine label like an expert, and impress a date with your mad skillz.
Wine labels are tricky. There are a lot of words on a wine label. Many are in teeny tiny print that you need a magnifying glass to read, a lot of them are in foreign languages, and the rest are just plain confusing. All this can cause a fair bit of anxiety in social situations, and even causes some people to avoid wine altogether out of fear of a wrong order. So if you’ve ever picked up a bottle, looked at the label, and still have no idea what you’re looking at, let’s get you up to speed. In a few short minutes, you’ll go from anxious to expert, and your friends, colleagues, and even that special someone will be impressed. Read on!
First, choose your grape
American wine labels will tell you which varietal (i.e. the type of grape) dominates the wine. Many of the popular wine grapes grown in the USA have French origins, and thus French names (e.g. Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, etc). If there isn’t a varietal listed, the wine is usually a blend of many grapes. In fact, if the wine is made from less than 75% of a single grape, labeling laws prohibit listing the name of the grape on the bottle.
Where was it grown?
Ok, you’ve narrowed down the grape(s) that make up the wine. The next thing to look for is the region. It’s important to keep in mind that certain grapes do better in certain regions than others. For example, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot do well in hot climates like the Napa Valley, California, whereas Pinot Noir does better in cooler climates. As you drink more wine, certain patterns will become obvious; certain regions are better for certain grapes.
In addition to listing the wine region, some producers even list the vineyard name on the label. These vineyards are often some of the more famous names in wine. As many of these vineyards are in France, we’ll save that tutorial for another day :)
Vintage is important
Next, let’s look for the vintage. The vintage denotes the year the grapes were harvested, and is listed on the bottle (e.g. a wine whose grapes were harvested in 2013 would say 2013 on the bottle). Often, you’ll hear people talk about and compare one vintage to another. These comparisons stem from factors like average sunlight, amount of rainfall, and even the timing of an overnight frost. Since wine is produced in numerous regions throughout the world, whether a vintage was “good” or not is a relative term. For example, in a particular year the Burgundy region of France might have had great conditions that allowed for a strong vintage and high yields, while Napa Valley had rainfall close to harvest that caused the wine to lose many of its flavor characteristics. The point here is that the strength of a vintage is region-specific.
But the year stamped on a bottle does immediately tell you if the wine is old or young- and this alone is enough information to help inform your choices. In general, stay away from white wine that is inexpensive and produced 3 or more years ago. Doing so will help you avoid a wine that is past its prime and has lost its freshness. Similarly, big bold reds that were just recently released can usually benefit from some extra years aging in the bottle after their release.
Alcohol- more isn’t always better here
Alcohol can vary from 8% to 17% depending on how much sugar the grapes have at harvest, and the duration of fermentation (remember, fermentation is yeast eating sugar and turning it into alcohol). I’m not a fan of wine that is too “hot” (i.e. too alcoholic) as it can be out of balance. That said, of all the things on a wine label, alcohol content is the least important, so not to worry.
What if it’s written in another language?!
Deciphering a foreign wine label requires some know-how about the region to understand which grapes and sub-regions produce the best wines. Luckily, the most popular wine regions utilize quality control system that go back centuries, and are known for producing consistent wines. So even if you can’t read the label, if the wine comes from one of these popular regions, you can feel confident that the wine is good, provided it’s not too old or too young.
You can do it!
You now know what the most important parts of a wine label mean, and how to use them to make an informed choice — good for you! To me, demystifying wine and the terms used to describe it is almost as important as enjoying what’s in your glass. If you want more wine skillz, follow Vinohacker on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter to get the latest!
