| Reading a wine label is a useful skill to have as it | | | | vineyard or town rather than a region or a |
| lets you go into a wine store and make informed | | | | country), the better it's likely to be. The reasoning |
| choices on new purchases. By knowing what to | | | | being that lesser wine producers will often try to |
| look for and what to ignore you'll be able to sort | | | | cash in on the reputation of famous wine |
| through the multitude of choices and the find ones | | | | producing regions, even though their grapes were |
| that best match your personal choices. In this | | | | grown in agriculturally poor areas of that region. |
| part of the wine 101 series I'll look at each aspect | | | | Thirdly, the alcohol content; it's recommended that |
| of a wine label individually... | | | | you look for one at around 14% or less. You may |
| Firstly, the vintage; most bottles of wines stocked | | | | think that the higher the alcohol content, the more |
| in stores are meant to be drunk immediately so | | | | value you'll get from it, but wines with higher |
| look for ones that were produced in recent years. | | | | levels of alcohol than that tend to be unbalanced |
| This particularly applies if you're looking for a | | | | and, if drinking for pleasure rather than to get |
| fresh, lively, fruity wine at a reasonable price. | | | | drunk, won't be very enjoyable. |
| Whilst some vintages are famous for certain | | | | Lastly, the fine details; including information such |
| wines, they tend to be quite expensive and, if | | | | as the dates the grapes were harvested and the |
| you do want to buy such a wine, research on the | | | | wine was bottled, whether the grapes were |
| internet or in magazines will be required. | | | | grown and fermented at the same place (called |
| Secondly, the geography; there are lots of | | | | estate-bottling), and the phone number of the |
| famous regions and vineyards around the world | | | | winery are all positive signs. Details such as these |
| (too many to list here) so this can be a bit of a | | | | add to a wine's authenticity and indicate that the |
| lottery unless you do prior research. However, as | | | | wine producer cares about and has faith in their |
| a general rule, the more specific a wine label is | | | | product. |
| about its source (i.e. by stating a particular | | | | |