| Reading
a wine label : |
|
Wine
labels are of two types, varietal (which focus on the
grape variety used) and geographic (focusing instead
on the region which produced the wine). You'll find
that most new world wines have "varietal" labels while
old world wines have geographic ones.
|
 |
A
wine from the old world will normally not mention
the grapes/s it's made from as winemakers from
this region, believe that making a wine is a combination
of several factors, one of which is the grape
as opposed to the new world winemakers, who believe
in the different school of thought. In the case
of a new world wine in most cases, you'll notice
the name of the vineyard on the label, the vintage
(year produced), the area (or appellation), and
the grape variety (varietal). This is a unique
distinction from the European producers.
Lets look at an example now of how to read an
Old world wine label and a new world one.
|
| First
the old world typified by the French Bordeaux
label you see above: |
| 1. |
Appellation
Bordeaux Supérier Controlée - The name of
the A.O.C. (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée)
wine-growing region, district, or village
to which the wine is entitled according
to how it was produced. For example, a wine
from the Saint-Èmilion district would be
labeled "Appellation Saint-Èmilion Contrôlée."
|
| 2. |
75
cl. - Volume of wine. 75 cl is equal to
750 ml, which is the standard size of a
wine bottle.
|
| 3. |
11%
vol. - Percentage of alcohol by volume. |
| 4. |
L.
69 B 30 - Lot number. |
| 5. |
"Mis
en bouteille au château" - means that it
is bottled on the chateau itself instead
of: "mis en bouteille à la propriété" (bottled
at the property), "mis en bouteille dans
la région de production" (bottled in the
region of production), or "mis en bouteille
dans nos caves" (bottled in our cellars).
|
| 6. |
Country
of origin. |
| 7. |
Château
Beausoleil - The château name. Either the
regional appellation or a brand name will
be used if not a chateau wine.
|
| 8. |
1990
- The year in which the grapes were harvested
(all of them must be from that year)
|
| 9. |
Grand
Vin de Bordeaux - "Grand Vin" followed by
the appellation, most often simply "Grand
Vin de Bordeaux." If you're fortunate enough
to be drinking one of these . I envy you.
|
| 10. |
Picture
of the chateau |
|
|
|
How
to read an Australian wine label :
Now
lets look at reading a new world wine label and
take an Aussie wine as an example. Far simpler.
|
 |
| 1. |
Penfolds
- The company which makes the wine. |
| 2. |
The
grape varietals used to make this particular
wine. |
| 3. |
Percentages
- The percentages of each grape used. |
| 4. |
Vintage
- the year the grapes were harvested. |
| 5. |
Clare
valley - the wine growing district. |
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