I thought I would take a few posts and break down the wine label for everyone so you know what all the terminology we use actually means. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask in the comment section below or on our facebook page!
So I'll start with the front label, which is what you usually see first on the shelf. And I'll use our labels for examples.
Here's a Wenwood wine:
And here is a Peaceful Bend label:
On most wine bottles the front label will usually feature some type of graphic. Whether it's a photograph, artwork, or just the logo of the winery, we all put something eye-catching (hopefully) that helps convey a message of who we are as wineries. The PBV label features our logo, which we like since it depicts the river and wildlife on our property. The Wenwood Label features artwork inspired by the scenery around their farm.
The front label should also tell you what wine you are buying. The wine can be named after the grape variety it is made from (for instance, 'Norton' or 'Chardonnay"), or it can carry a proprietary name that the winery gave to it. Both of the wine labels above are proprietary names: PBV's is called Whittenburg - named after a local creek; WW's wine is called Kran Rose - inspired by the cranberry flavor and color of the wine.
Sometimes you will find the size of the container - usually expressed in mililiters. Most standard wine bottles are 750ml, which is the same amount as 1/5 of a gallon. This information has to be on the bottle somewhere by law, but not necessarily on the front label though.
Finally, there will be information about the wine itself. Sometimes you might find a small description about the wine - like Wenwood's description of the wine flavors found right below 'Kran Rose' or our statement in the black box saying 'semi-sweet white'.
You'll find the alcohol content of the wine, but this can be slightly tricky. Many wineries will go ahead and put the alcohol percentage on the front label. But some wineries opt to put the words 'table wine' on the label. Table wine means that the wine has somewhere between 7 and 14% alcohol in it. The table wine classification gives wineries more flexibility to handle differences in juice chemistry each year.
There is often a place designation on the front label. This might be as simple as 'American' or 'Missouri'. It might also specify a specific grape-growing region (called an 'American Viticulture Area' or AVA) such as Napa Valley or Ozark Highlands. Whatever region is specified, the winery must make sure that at least 75% of the wine in the bottle was grown and vinted in that region or area.
One extra note on the place name is the word 'estate', which has a special meaning for wineries. When a wine is labeled an estate wine it means that the winery grew the grapes and created the wine all on the winery's own property. These can be special wines since the winemaker has full control (well, outside of mother nature anyways!) over the whole process.
Sometimes you'll find a statement saying 'produced and bottled by X producer in X town & X state'. This information doesn't necessarily have to be on the front label, but it does have to be on the bottle somewhere by law. You can see that WW & PBV both include that statement on our front label.
So those are the big points to the front label of wines sold in the U.S. I hope this information helps you when you are figuring out what to buy. Let us know if you have questions!
Happy Trills,
Katie
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