Wine 101: How to Read A Wine Label
Learn what you need to know when reading your next wine label.
Whether you know it or not, there’s a lot of information on every single wine label.
From that little piece of paper alone, you can learn many things about what you’re about to drink. Many wines, for instance, will have an Appellation d’Origine Controlee, which shows the region where the wine was made. Often, not just the name of the winery but the name of the wine seller (or champagne house) will also be displayed. This begins to tell the story of the wine, and every vintage tells its own tale.
Decoding the information is important. Often, the wine label will say where the wine was bottled – if the work was done at the winery or an outside merchant, for instance. If the label does not specifically name where the bottling took place, it’s likely the work was done through a merchant.
The label on a bottle of wine or champagne will also display what style it is – if it’s “Blanc,” for instance, it’s made from chardonnay grapes. By learning how to read a wine bottle, you’ll know exactly what sort of grapes made the vintage, if the bottling was done at the winery itself and at which vineyard the wine was made.
For more information on reading wine labels, use these resources:
Here is a 60-second look at how to tell the difference from Old World to New World ones:
and Must Love Wine teaches you about Italian wine labels:
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