How To Read Wine Labels

Reading wine labels is what we’ll be looking at in this part of our wine 101 guide…

If you buy wine, knowing how to read a wine label is a useful skill to have. Finding out what (and what not) to look for will help you buy wines that meet your perfectly your preferences. So, lets look at each aspect of a wine label individually.

The first thing to look for is the vintage, or the year the wine was produced; most wines are meant to be drunk immediately, so choose a bottle from a recent year. This particularly applies if youre looking for a fresh, lively, fruity wine at a reasonable price. Of course, there are some vintages of certain wines that are well known, but these tend to be pricey; research these wines online or in specialty magazines to learn about them before you buy.

Secondly, the geography; there are lots of famous regions and vineyards around the world (too many to list here) so this can be a bit of a lottery and unless you do prior research. However, a good rule of thumb is to choose a wine which label state a specific vineyard or town rather than a region. The reasoning being that lesser wine producers will often try to cash in on the reputation of famous wine producing regions, even though their grapes were grown in agriculturally poor areas of that region.

Thirdly, the alcohol content; it’s recommended that you look for one at around 14% or less.You may think that the higher the alcohol content, the more value you’ll get from it, but wines with higher levels of alcohol than that tend to be unbalanced and, if drinking for pleasure rather than to get drunk, wont be very enjoyable.

Finally, you should look for small details that indicate high quality: the date the grapes were picked, whether the wine was made at the vineyard (estate bottled), and vineyard contact information. Details such as these add to a wines authenticity and indicate that the wine producer cares about and has faith in their product.