Guest AuthorShital Kakkar Mehra

Wine Label Jargon

By | Shital Kakkar Mehra | Executive Presence Coach for CEOs I Business Communication Expert I Best-selling Author I Co-Founder Katalyst, NGO

Reading a wine label can be an intimidating task for budding connoisseurs, after all there is too much jargon! If you wish to enjoy drinking wine, it’s important to learn to read wine labels as it helps understand the quality of your drink and ensures you are drinking what you are paying for.

The world of wines is clearly divided into two: the old world composed of countries which have centuries old tradition in wine-making (France, Germany, Italy, Spain) where “terroir” is all important and the new world (USA, Chile, South Africa and Australia) which came of age in 19th century, where grape variety is all important. The good news is that India too has found its place on the new world wine map.

All good wines have two labels, a larger one in the front and a smaller one at the back of the bottle. Reading the label in front, you will notice:

 Name of the wine: Old world classic French & Italian red wines are named after the wine-producing region (e.g. Bordeaux, Champagne, Barolo) and the vineyard (e.g. Châteaux Latour Martillac), both carrying a brand value, without any mention of the grape variety. Old world whites carry the name of the vineyard, the region and the grape variety (e.g. Riesling from Alsace & Rheinhessen). Traditionally, German wine labels carry maximum information. Amongst the new world wines, it’s straight forward – an eye-catching      proprietary name and the grape variety (e.g. Merlot, Shiraz).     

  • Country of origin
  • Wine Standard: Old world wines are labeled table (no grading, most basic), country (better quality) or grade of appellation (highest quality and certified). Amongst new world wines, there is no formal grading.
  • Grape variety: As the most important factor for taste, it tells us about the body of the wine. While new world wines display this prominently, few old  world winemakers too have realized that new consumers are relating better to varietal (made primarily from a single grape variety e.g. Chardonnay) and have started displaying it.      
  • Volume : Standard 750 ml/ 75 cl
  • Alcohol by volume: Displayed as a %, usually ranges from

     8 -14.5%, going up to 21% in fortified wines. Besides giving a “buzz”,      higher alcohol % add to the body to the wine.

  • Vintage: Although the wine maybe a blend, a large % of the grapes used should have been harvested in the calendar year stated on the bottle and this % varies across the world.
  • Other jargon: Reserve means that the wine has been aged before being sold. Mis en Bouteille au Chateaux or estate-bottled means the grower and the producer are the same. Sulphites, if present, are mentioned.

The back label may contain words like “fruity”, “dry”, “oak”, “cherries”, “plums”, painting word pictures or display some sayings/ warnings, all of which makes for interesting reading. As this is the winemaker’s creative space, few tend to get a bit carried away!  

Republished with permission and originally published at Shital Kakkar Mehra’s LinkedIn

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