Understanding Wine Labels

What does all the information on an American wine label mean? Let's take a look at the legally required part, what the government says has to be there. A little knowledge can help you pick out the right wine. This is better than choosing by the artwork or just picking up a celebrity wine. Yeah, we all like Snoop Dogg, but that doesn't mean 19 Crimes is always your best choice.  :)

The blog post coming later this week will focus just on the producer information because that one piece of information is a bit complicated, but can be very important.

Some of the required and useful information may be on the front or back label. Labeling laws are from the TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau), part of the Treasury Dept. It might seem, as a consumable, wine should be with the FDA. The government is more concerned with collecting federal alcohol taxes. America's first alcohol tax was enacted in 1791 and led to the Whiskey Rebellion.

An example front label from a winery:

A. ACORN. Name of the producer. In this case it's ACORN Winery.

B. Zinfandel grapes are used to make the wine. The wine must be at least 75% Zinfandel to be labeled as such. The other 25% can be any other grapes varietals and does not have to be disclosed. This designation can be the wine variety, as Zinfandel. It can also be Red Wine, White Wine, Sparkling Wine, or even Marilyn Merlot (yes, that's a real wine).

C. Russian River Valley is a government-approved appellation, or American Viticultural Area in Sonoma County. At least 85% of the grapes must be from the Russian River Valley. If it was less than 85% then the appellation would be Sonoma County if all the grapes came from within that area or California if there is fruit from other California counties. It's not foolproof, but I assume a wine with an appellation of a state or county is not of as high of quality as one with an approved appellation, like Russian River Valley, Napa Valley, Paso Robles, etc.

D. 2018. The year the grapes were harvested. Wine grapes are harvested in the autumn, like almost any other fruit. For a wine from the Southern Hemisphere, the harvest is usually in March or April.

E. Alc 14.7% by volume. The percentage of alcohol by volume. There is quite a range of variance allowed. For instance, this wine pictured is 14.7%. It could be any one percent on either side of that number. Table wine generally run from about 11% to 16%. A wine under 14% can be labeled Table Wine instead of giving the percentage. The alcohol level is a good indicator of a wine style. Lower alcohol wines tend to be leaner, lighter. Higher alcohol wine are heavy, full-bodied, often sweet and fruity. So this number can help determine the style of wine.

Optional information:
Heritage Vines is a special designation or name the winery uses for this wine. You might find phrased like Reserve or Old Vine. None of these words have any legal definition and is optional information on a label. If you see Organic or Made With Organic Grapes, these words do have legal definitions as defined by the US Dept of Agriculture.
Alegria Vineyards means at least 95% of the grapes are from this vineyard. If you only see the appellation, such as Russian River Valley or Sonoma County, it means this wine is a blend of different vineyards from the appellation.

The back label from the same bottle:

F. Produced and Bottle By is information about the grapes and production of the wine. That is, how much control the people owning the ACORN label had over the wine. This is a bit complicated and will be covered more in depth in the next blog post. It must contain the name and address of who bottled the wine (the last stop in the production cycle).

G. Contains sulfites. Because a small part of the population has respiratory issues with sulfur and sulfur is used as a preservative in winemaking, and actually occurs naturally on grapes, we have this warning. Many consumables actually contain more sulfur than wine. Because of this warning, many people feeling any ill effect after drinking wine will assume it's the sulfur. Remember, sulfur issues are in the respiratory system. It's not headaches or upset stomachs, for instance.

H. Government warning. The standard gov't warning about health risks, drinking while pregnant, or the generic ":operating machinery" after consuming alcohol. Strangely, there's nothing about the consumption of too much alcohol could lead to pregnancy or doing dumb things (Hold my beer...  :)

Other verbiage is there to convince you to buy their wine. You'll find words on the back of many wines that tell you something about the wine, the winery, the vineyard, the winemaker, or the winemaker's dog. Some will attempt to tell you what the wine smells like, tastes like, or what foods to pair. I don't find this sort of opinion information useful, as wine change as they age in the bottle. The label above tells you all the different grape varieties that make up this wine blend, and there are plenty because Bill Nachbaur, the owner/vineyard manager/winemaker, liked to experiment will new grapes.