The origins of the wine bottle label date back to the 18th century. The label is important to wine enthusiasts because, in addition to legally required information, it also provides additional optional information. In 2009, legally defined designations were established.
To standardize designation of origin, there are now only two categories:
- Vins sans indications géographique (VSIG) - wines without a geographical indication, corresponding to the former table wine
- Vins avec indicación géographique (IG) - wines with geographical indication, subject to strict production conditions, listed in their specifications.
Wines with geographical indications fall into two groups:
- IGPs (Indication géographique Protégée) - protected geographical indication, are the former vins de pays, they mark the area where the grapes grew.
- AOPs (Appellation d'Origine Protégée) - protected designation of origin, bring together the former AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée) and AOVDQS
AOVDQS: Appellation d'Origine Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieur - designation of origin wine of high quality. Nevertheless, France has obtained an exemption for AOC and AOVDQS wines. This information is sufficient and it is not mandatory to specify "AOP."
What should be on the wine label:
All wine labels should contain 8 sections of information. Sparkling wines even 9.
1. Wine category
The legal sales description of the wine category (wine, sparkling wine, semi-sparkling wine, etc.).
- For wines with a geographical indication, it can be replaced by the term "appellation d'origine protégée" or "appellation d'origine controlee"
- For wines with an "appellation d'origine" or indication "géographique protégée"
- "vin de pays" for wines subject to a "géographique protégée" indication, supplemented by the name of the AOP (for example: Fronsac) or IGP (for example: Pays d'Oc).
2. Alcohol percentage
The actual alcohol content must be indicated in units or half units of a percentage and by the symbol "% vol." (12% vol. or 11.5% vol.). It may be preceded by the term the abbreviation "alc".
3. Provenance
This information is displayed alongside the sales description (wine from France, wine from the European Community, etc.), or via a supplementary statement ("Product from France, Italy, Chile, etc.").
4. Volume
Nominal volume: A range of standard volumes is defined for each wine category (example: 125 - 1500 ml for sparkling wines). Within this range, sparkling wines must be sold according to the set volumes (125 - 200 - 375 - 750 - 1500 ml).
5. Name of the bottler
The bottler is the person or company that bottles the wine or has bottled it on its behalf. Name and address of the bottler (name of the village and member state where the bottler's headquarters are located) should be given, followed by the terms "bottler" or "bottled by" etc.
For wines with a geographical indication, the bottler's name can be replaced by specific terms, the terms of use determined by EU member states when bottling takes place: in the producer's vineyard (e.g., bottled at the chateau); on the premises of a producer group (e.g., bottled at the accommodation); in a company located in the relevant area or in the immediate vicinity of the relevant designated area (e.g., bottled in the production area).
If the name and/or address of the bottler is not disclosed, then the name and address of a person participating in the distribution network (seller, distributor, etc.) should be indicated on the label.
6. Lot number
The lot consists of all products manufactured under identical conditions. The batch or lot number, consisting of numbers or letters, is preceded by the letter "L" except where this information is clearly separated from the other label information.
7. Allergens
For wines, the presence of the allergen sulfur dioxide must be indicated via the wording "Contains sulfites (or sulfur dioxide)." Wines produced with grapes from the 2012 harvest and labeled after June 30, 2012 must indicate egg or milk-based products used as preservatives or filter/binding agents if residues of these products are still detectable after analysis.
8. Health warning
For alcoholic beverages (containing more than 1.2% by volume), the packaging must display a health warning for pregnant women. It can also be a pictogram of a pregnant woman in a circle with a line through it or a message written, "drinking alcohol during pregnancy, even in small amounts, can seriously affect the health of the child." This health warning should be next to the effective alcohol content.
9. Sugar content
This information is optional, but mandatory for sparkling wines. Depending on the sugar content of the sparkling wine, the following terms may have been used: brut nature, dos zéro, brut, extra-sec, sec and doux.
Mandatory information, with the exception of the lot number and allergens, should be grouped in the same field of vision on the label.
- "Bordeaux", "Vin de Bordeaux" or "Grand vin de Bordeaux"; this can also be placed in another place on the label.
- Name of the vineyard (Chateau, estate or other trademark).
- Harvest year
- Logo and possible display of the chateau
- AOC*
- Name of the bottler*
- Alcohol content and health warning*
- Volume*
- Allergens*
- Origin*
- Lot number*
* This information is mandatory.
Other optional information
- "Traditional" information
- Name and address of the producer
- Awards given by official bodies
- "Bottled at the chateau or estate".
- Production method (e.g. organic wine)
- "Crus classés, Crus bourgeois" categories ...
- Awards or medals obtained in competitions
- Bottle number
- Information related to the grape
And furthermore:
Although all labels contain basic facts, such as region, producer, alcohol by volume and vintage (unless non-vintage), there are some notable differences between wines from the Old World and those from the New World.
Here are the differences between labels from these two categories
Old World wine labels
The vast majority of Old World wines will typically only indicate regions and aging classifications on the front of the label, but not grape varieties.
Red Riojas, for example, are produced from Tempranillo grapes, possibly with Graciano, Garnacha and perhaps Mazuelo. (And do you know that Mazuelo is the name for Carignan in Rioja). The problem is that you will find almost no Rioja that lists any of these grapes on the front label. The same goes for Chianti (made from Sangiovese), Burgundy (Pinot Noir for reds and Chardonnay for whites), Bordeaux and many others.
The main reason for this labeling method is that these wines are more about a regional style than about the grapes themselves. The same grape can exhibit different characteristics based on climate, soil and terroir. So while it may seem like producers are trying to confuse you by not naming the grapes on their bottles, it is actually the exact opposite.
In recent years, some Old World producers have begun naming their wine's grapes on labels on the back, or even occasionally on the front. The caveat is that you are expected to know which grapes can (and should) be used in specific regions.
Another feature of an Old World label is that it can provide guidelines for aging. Unlike many New World wine labels, terms such as "Reserva" (or "Riserva" in Italy) and "Gran Reserva" have real meaning based on the region they come from.
However, each region's regulations for age classifications may have almost identical names but vary greatly. For example, if a bottle of red Rioja has Reserva on the label, it means it has been aged for at least 36 months, with at least 12 months in oak.
However, a bottle of Chianti with Riserva on the label has spent at least 24 months in oak, with another three months in bottle. In addition, a Brunello di Montalcino with Riserva on the label has aged for five years after harvest, with at least two of those years in oak and six months in bottle. This is compared to the standard four years total for non-Riserva Brunello.
Perhaps the most confusing wine labels of all are German, containing a multitude of technical information and German-language terms such as "Trockenbeerenauslese," "Bernkasteler Badstube" and "Grosses Gewächs." Here are a few tricks to help you decode German labels.
Quick tips for German wine
German labels include maturity levels
- For Prädikatswein, a designation indicating superior quality wines, the levels range from the least ripe (Kabinett) to the ripest (Trockenbeerenauslese) and everything in between (Spätlese, Auslese and Beerenauslese).
- Maturity levels can help indicate the sweetness level of the final wine.
- Specific sweetness levels may also be listed on German wine labels, including Trocken (dry), Halbtrocken (semi-dry/non-dry) and Eiswein (sweet dessert wine made from frozen grapes). You may also see Feinherb listed (another term to denote non-dry wines).
And this is just the tip of the iceberg
- If you see two names together, especially if the first name ends in an "er," this indicates a subregion and a vineyard.
- So Bernkasteler Badstube means that the wine comes from the Badstube vineyard, located in the Bernkastel sub-region.
- German wines have their own version of Crus, such as Bordeaux or Burgundy.
- Grosses Gewächs on a label refers to a "big growth" and a wine of the highest quality, where Grosse Lage and Erstes Lage refer to grand cru and premier cru, respectively.
New world wine labels
In wines from the U.S., South America, Oceania and most other non-European countries, the grape variety is almost always on the label. Originally, New World wine labels focused less on where the grapes were grown because they were all basically unknown wine regions. Rather, they highlighted grapes to link the wines to iconic European regions. A Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot might be associated with Bordeaux, while a Chardonnay might be likened to Burgundy.
This also happened because, unlike their Old World counterparts, the style of wine focused more on the expression of the grape than the region, although this has certainly changed over time. Now many non-European regions are home to some of the best vineyards in the world.
New World wine labels are generally quite simple. More often than not, they offer the grapes, region, sub-region and even a description of the wine's aromas and flavors, usually on the back.
However, there are certainly exceptions to this rule. Take one of the most popular wines in the U.S., The Prisoner. That name is literally all you find on the front label, while the back label simply states that it is a "red wine" from Napa Valley. These wines, like some Old World counterparts, count on the prestige of their name communicating everything a wine connoisseur needs to know.
Certain New World wines can also be considered Rhône-style red blends or Tuscan-style superwines. Again, you need to know the grapes used in historical European regions to understand what is in the bottle. Typically, Rhone-style red blends from California are a combination of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre other grapes allowed in the Rhone Valley in France.
Keep in mind that terms such as "Reserve," "Special," and "Selection" with New World labels have no minimum legal requirements in terms of aging or vineyard location. They are in fact marketing terms meant to imply a higher quality bottling, but they can be put on any label and offer no guarantee.
The only term that really has legal meaning in the U.S. is "Meritage," the combination of "merit" and "heritage. A number of California winemakers banded together in the late 1980s to form the Meritage Association (now Meritage Alliance) and create this classification for Bordeaux-style blends produced by member wineries, intended as a quality designation. These wines must be a blend of two or more of the Bordeaux red varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot and the rarer St. Macaire, Gros Verdot and Carmenère. They cannot contain more than 90% of any one variety. For white Meritage, the blend must contain at least two of the three white Bordeaux grapes: Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Muscadelle.
Source: website of DGCCRF - General Directorate for Fair Trade, Consumer Affairs and Anti-Fraud & Marshall Tilden III / @WineEnthusiast / Photos by Sara Littlejohn, Meg Baggott & Matthew Dimas
