How to Read Wine Labels

Every wonder what all that information on a wine label means?  Let’s try to make a wine label easier to understand.

Different countries have different standards for wine labels compared to the United States wine label regulations.  Wine labels are regulated by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade bureau of the U. S. Treasury Department (TTB).  Wineries in California usually provided more information than required by law.

With strict laws governing what they must and must not show. The typical United States label shows the wine’s producer, vintage, region of origin and grape variety.

• Brand name (Required) is traditionally the name of the producer, winery or vineyard, although ‘brand wines’ (those named purely for marketing appeal) are now increasingly common.

• Wine type (class)(Required) a wine may be labeled by a grape or varietal name such as Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon, or it may be given a generic name such as “Red Table Wine.” Wines using varietal names must derive at least 75% of their volume from the grape designated, and the varietal name must appear on the label with an appellation of origin. Although not required, many wineries voluntarily list the proportions of the grape varieties that comprise their wine blends.

• AVA (American Viticultural Area)

Wine labels may contain several types of geographic designations of origin:

• Appellations of origin that are the names of states and counties can be used on wine labels under federal law if at least 75% of the grapes come from the named state or county.  The remainder of the grapes may come from outside the named state or county. 
• For wine labeled with an American viticultural area (“AVA”), which is a specific type of appellation of origin established under federal law, at least 85% of the grapes must come from the named AVA (for example “Napa Valley”), while the remainder of the grapes may come from outside of the AVA. That wine must be fully finished in the state in which the AVA is located.
• California law requires that 100% of the grapes come from within California for any wine labeled with the appellation of origin California or a geographical subdivision of the state.  This is stricter than the federal labeling standard.

• Varietal winemaking and labeling are the norm in the United States, although a number of the country’s most prestigious wines are blends whose front labels do not mention grape varieties at all. Wines labeled with the name of a grape variety must be made from at least 75% of the specified grape.

• Alcohol content must be explicitly stated for wines with over 14% ABV. Wines with less than 14% ABV may be labeled with either their precise alcohol content or with ‘Table Wine’.

• Vintage The vintage designates the year in which the grapes were harvested. As of May 2006, federal regulations allow that up to 15% of the blend can be from a vintage other than the stated year. The law was designed to allow American producers to be held to the same standards as other wine producing countries.  Previously, the U.S. standard required that 95% of the grapes in the bottle be from the stated vintage. This regulation only applies to wines that do not use an AVA.  For example, if the grape source is noted to be “California,” 85% from the stated vintage is the applicable rule. 

• Producer (Required) of the bottler or producer is preceded by the words ‘Bottled by’, or ‘Produced and bottled by’ if the wine was bottled at the winery which made it. The optional statement ‘Estate-bottled’ is reserved exclusively for wines grown, harvested, crushed, fermented, processed and bottled by a single winery estate, within the boundaries of a single AVA.

• Volume of the bottle (or other container) may be stated in fluid ounces (fl.oz), liters (l) or milliliters (ml).

• Sulfite declaration is a requirement for all wines containing more than 10 parts per million of sulfur dioxide. Wines optionally labeled as ‘Organic’ must be free of any artificially added sulfites. Those labeled as ‘Made with organically grown grapes’ will have some sulfites.

• Government health warnings are a mandatory requirement for all alcoholic beverages on sale in the United States.