Suppose you are standing in a wine store and you wish to buy something different. You do not know anything outside of the label.
What does the label have to do with the wine?
Recently I was asked this question by Karen Cole on NPR’s and then I realized that I had never come across this question earlier.
So here is the list of few things you should look for or ignore in a wine label.
Content of the alcohol: There are varieties of wines having too much alcohol in it, which makes the wine unbalanced. And also there are few classic wines available with the level of alcohol are high, but majority of regular table wines have alcohol level at 15 percent or above like Shiraz, Chardonnay, Merlot and Zinfandel. Some taste terrific but a wine usually contains an alcohol content to about 14 percent or below, if there is nothing else to go on.
Vintage: This is the other thing you should look for. Most of the wines which are available should be drunk immediately, hence to ensure that the wine is not too old, especially when you buy it expecting fresh fruitiness and lively. Regularly a Pinot Grigio is 5 years old and Beaujolais Nouveau is 2 years old.
Geography: A wine from Napa is better choice than the wine from California, this follows all around the world. Though there will be a variation in the price, so it does not tell more about the value. There are vast amount of vineyards all over the world and some famous for producing a high quality grapes, hence you have a knowledge about it you can make an educated choice for the quality.
Critter Labels: There are good wines available which have animals on the labels like Iron horse or Stag’s Leap from California but when there is a cute animal or a tale about the animal on the less expensive wines try avoiding that.
Estate-bottled: It is a good sign. This has a meaning indicating that the ones who made such a wine also have a hand in growing of grapes on their own land.
Old vines or vieilles vignes: Just ignore it. Though older vines have more flavorful grapes but produce fewer, but the old vine has not been defined by anyone yet.
Phone number: It is a good sign of highly personal winery, as the numbers given at the back of bottle, invites to call the winery. And if you call the owner answers the question asked.
Details: Details like when the wine was disgorged and when the temporary cap was replaced by the real cork add the feeling of authenticity.
So read for the following things and find out how good the wine is.
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