How-To: Read an American Wine Label

Courtesy of http://www.wine-searcher.com/wine-label-usa.lml

Every year, the US approves over 100,000 wine labels for distribution. Every new wine release in the US must have its own approved label. As a result, American wine labels are often easier to understand compared to their Old World counterparts. There is always useful information to look for:

The Region: Known as the American Viticultural Area, or AVA, US wine regions are broken up into general geographic areas (ie. New York or California), and then further into very specific appellations (ie Finger Lakes or Napa Valley). If you see the specific name of an appellation on the bottle, that means at least 85% of the grapes were grown there. 

Varietal (Grape): Having a single grape variety on the bottle means the wine contains at least 75% of that variety. For blends, it will often include the percentage of grapes blended to make the wine.

The Brand: There is no set rule for this, as it can be a name using anything from the winery, to the region, to a proprietary name. But the name and the address of the winemaker must be included somewhere.

Vintage (Year): The vintage can only be listed if at least 95% of the grapes came from that year.

Type of Wine: Wine can be labeled as Table Wine, Sparkling Wine, Fruit Wine, Dessert Wine, depending on specific characteristics such as ingredients and alcohol content.

Alcohol content: If the content is between 7% and 14%, the wine can be labeled either as “Table Wine” or with the actual alcohol percent. It has to be labeled one or the other. Wine above 14%, it must be labeled with the precise alcohol content.

I am sure that although it is a hassle for manufacturers to go through this process every year, it is useful for consumers to know what to find on a wine label, and be assured consistency and accuracy in the information every time. And it sometimes it also provides interesting opportunities for winemakers in their branding. We have enjoyed several bottles from Imagery Winery, where they commission a different artist for each wine label, to create a new image around their central theme.

 

Imagery Winery