Quick Wine Novice Tip...

Learning to Read a Label for U.S.A. Wines

These were great tips we learned in a wine class we took in Boston in 2002

When I purchase a bottle of wine, I look at a few things - name, appellation/region, grape varietal and vintage date (year) if I plan to buy a bottle from a U.S.A. winery/vineyard. While I do not always recognize the winery name, knowing the major appellations and varietals helps me determine if it is a wine I want to try. For example, I tend to prefer Napa Valley Cabernets, Napa Valley and Sonoma County Chardonnays, Russian River and Oregon state Pinot Noirs, and Dry Creek Valley Zinfandels.

Here's what I learned over the years, mainly through a wine class in Boston. This is not the sophisticated description that a wine educator or expert might provide, but hopefully it helps you when you're shopping in the local grocery store or wine market.

• Vineyard/Winery Name - tells you who makes the wine. As you purchase wine and chat with others who enjoy wine, you'll start to learn names of wineries/vineyards, which may help you make selections in the future.


• Grape Varietal (Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, etc.) - in order to have the grape varietal name on the label, the wine must be made from at least 75% of that varietal grape. So, if your wine label reads - Merlot, a minimum of 75% of the grapes used to make the wine were merlot. Many red varietals use other red grapes (cabernet franc for example) to blend with the primary grape and enhance the flavor of the wine. However, it is possible that the wine is 100% of the varietal listed - see if the label on the back of the bottle shares any information on the wine.


• Appellation (growing regions) - in order to indicate that a wine is 'Napa Valley,' 'Russian River Valley, 'Mendicino County,' etc., 85% of the grapes must come from the designated appellation area. If the bottle does not list a county, the grapes were probably sourced from multiple growing regions. If the bottle reads California, Oregon, or any state, it just means the 100% of the grapes came from that state - anywhere in that state.


• Estate - in order to call a wine an 'estate' wine, 95% of the grapes must be from the estate vineyards, not grapes sourced from multiple appellations like Carneros, Oakville, etc.


• Vintage Date - when you see the year on the wine bottle, this tells the consumer the year the grapes were harvested. If you do not see a year on the bottle, the producer probably used grapes from more than one vintage.


• In the U.S., reserve is not a regulated term, so when you see a U.S.A. wine labeled reserve, the winery made the distinction and it does not always mean that the 'reserve' wine will be better than a non-reserve wine from a different winery.

If you plan on purchasing a very nice bottle of wine, but do not know as much as you would like to know about wine, I strongly encourage you to ask the wine buyer at the store for some suggestions and to tell you of recommended wineries and strong vintages as some years are better than others in all wine regions throughout the world.

Never be afraid to ask questions or for recommendations, I still do and learn something new almost every time. If anyone would like to correct or add information, please feel free make a comment.