Featured Question - Red Wine Academy Newsletter

 This week's featured question is:

“Why is it that so many U.S. wine producers do not put product information on the wine labels such as grapes used in the wine?  Some do not even include the vintage year?”

Good question.

To answer this question we must discuss the basics of wine labeling.

In the US wine labeling is regulated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

They require that the following information be included on the label of a bottle of wine:

1. A brand name

2. Class or type – In other words is it a dessert wine, table wine or sparkling wine?

3. Name and address of bottler – Note: Knowing the name and address of the bottler does not mean we know who real producer is, though; it simply means we know who the bottler or dealer is.  In many cases this may simply refer to who “cellered” or “vinted” the wine, in other words who held or stored it for a period of time.  As an aside: In the US or Canada, “produced by” or “made by” refers to the company that actually fermented 75% or more of the wine 

4. Net contents – This refers to the amount of wine contained in the bottle.  Most wine is 25.6 ounces or 750 ml.

5. Labels must state the term “Contains Sulfites”

5. Government warning.  Yes like cigarettes, wine labels must contain a warning about the dangers of alcohol consumption. 

6. Wines that are not made in the US must say “imported by.”

So these are the minimum requirements.

Complicating things more is the fact that some of the information on wine labels is there because it’s required by the country where the wine is made; while some of the information on the label is required by the country where the wine is sold.  As you can see, it can be challenging for those designing wine labels. 

The above six items are required to be on the front label of the wine.  But how can we tell the front label from the back?

The truth is: the front and back of labels have not been defined in the regulations.  However, the way I see it: it’s not a problem to look at both sides of the bottle.  Really I’d prefer to take the time to look at all the information included on both labels so that I can feel better about my decision.

Some additional items that might be included on a wine label:

To begin, let’s describe something called “Reserve.” 

You might see this on a bottle but it really doesn’t mean anything, unfortunately.  So don’t be fooled into thinking it necessarily is indicative of a great wine.  However in countries like Italy and Spain you’ll see the foreign equivalent of reserve which is “reserva” which indicates that a wine has been aged longer.  In some other countries, however, this term is not even regulated.

Vintage

Vintage simply refers to the year the grapes were harvested, nothing more.

Estate-bottled

Estate-bottled means that the producer has grown the grapes, made the wine and bottled it.  The highest designation is "grown, produced, and bottled by," which guarantees that the winery named on the label grew the grapes and produced and bottled the wine, making it a complete estate wine.  This does not mean the wine is definitely better but often it is better.

Vineyard name

This one is self-explanatory.

Classico

The term Classico is used with some Italian wines when the grapes used come from a central area.

Vielles Vignes

Vielles Vignes means old vines.  Old vines produce less grapes than younger ones and the quality is very good.  However the term is not that well regulated.

Superior or Superiore means that the wine attained a higher level of alcohol than the nonsuperior version.  That’s it.

In conclusion, the law requires basic information to be on the label of a bottle of wine and some companies are going to list nothing more than the minimum.  Some companies may choose to state less information on labels because of the cost to list more.  Some may fear the esthetics will be ruined if too much information is printed, and in some cases the company simply doesn’t care.  This is a question I would ask myself however: If a company only states the minimum information, what does that say about the wine itself? Maybe nothing, maybe something.  However, there are enough red wines out there that do include more than the basic information on their label, so why not try those ones first?

For more information on learning how to select the perfect wine, click here.

Until next time,

Take Care

Matthew Wagner