WINE 101 : How to read a wine bottle | The Beachside Resident

By: Ken Mageau

Article Category: Wine Life 1 Comment

Let’s start this month with a quick historic look at wines in America.

Virginia is the oldest wine growing region in the U.S., but California is the best established in terms of production and quality. If you look at a wine growing map of California you can see different AVAs dotted up and down the state.

An AVA is an American Viticultural Area, which defines a wine growing area by type of terroir where the grapes are actually grown. So in Sonoma, the Russian River is an AVA within Sonoma. If you see “Russian River” or “Napa Valley” on a wine label, all that really means is that 75% of the grapes that made the wine within are from that area. The wine doesn’t need to be made in Napa or Russian River, but the grapes need to be grown there.

California winemakers spend a fortune getting their wines known, so it should surprise no one that their respective names are all over each bottle they produce. Starting at the top of the bottle, the foil around the top shows the winemaker’s name, as does the cork. They want you to know they made it and that they’re proud of it. Some have a credibility line on the neck, which will tell you how long they’ve been making wine.

The main label, as you might expect, shows their name in bold print followed by the grape’s name. Now the grape shown — lets say chardonnay — means that at least 75% of the wine is chardonnay. The other 25% is comprised of various white wines blended together. If the grape name is missing and a general name is there, that means the wine is a blend of various reds or whites and no one grape makes up over 74% of the finished product.

As we continue down the label, you’ll find the AVA followed by the year of vintage. This is the year the grapes were picked. It may take two years of aging before the wine is bottled, so this is important in better quality wines, though most are ready to drink upon release. Next you may see “Estate” or “Reserve,” which usually means a better quality bottle of wine. In an estate wine, the winemaker is responsible for the grapes from the ground to the glass. He buys none of the grapes from other growers. So when it’s all on him, it usually means a much better wine.

Continuing on down — who would have guessed, but their name is there again. (Enough already…) And finally you’ll find where the wine was produced and the percentage of alcohol within.

On the back there could be a personal statement by the winemaker with some biographical info, or a statement regarding his wines. Some offer a food pairing and some even have directions to the winery itself.

Though at times the wealth of information on labels seems daunting, there really is a lot of simple information you can pick up very quickly. What you learn will certainly make your decision to purchase much easier.

We hope you found this informative and fun to read. If you’d like to see an article on something specific, please email us at: flyingcorkscrew@gmail.com.

I also hope you all have a very happy and prosperous 2010; it has to be better than 2009.

I’ll drink to that!

Ken

www.brevardwines.com