General Characteristics

• Wine Designation - This refers to a wines alleged quality. If it's from within Europe the wording must determine between the different categories of wine i.e. Table Wine/Quality Wine etc.

• Geographical Reference - This can be anything from the country of origin right down to the individual area.

• Volume of Wine - Typically 75cl.

• Alcoholic Strength - Usually stated as a percentage.

• Vintage Year - If a vintage is stated on a European wine then a minimum 85% of the wine must be produced in the stated year.

• Name and address of Producer/Bottler - Usually straightforward but often just reduced to a Postcode.

• Varietal Information - An optional category. If used in Europe the wine must be made up from 85% of the named variety. In the New World the amount is usually a minimum of 75%.

• Government Warnings - Some countries require warnings to be printed on the labels. More common on US labels than any other country where you can find warnings for pregnant women, asthmatics and those operating machinery.

Type of Wines

• Aperitif Wine -One meant to be served before a meal as an appetizer.

• Blanc de Blancs - White wine made from white grapes; this French phrase usually refers to sparkling wine made from fine Chardonnay grapes. A few table wines also carry this name

• Brut - Dry or lacking sweetness, used in reference to sparkling wines. This is the driest type of champagne normally sold; see also "extra dry."

• Dessert Wine - A term formerly used to indicate sweet wines, such as sherries, ports, and muscatels, that are fortified with brandy to bring them up to an alcohol content of around 16 to 18 percent. (See "fortified.") Now, the meaning is more precise: a wine to be served with desserts or by itself after a meal. Dessert wines today include such sweet wines as Muscat Canelli and "late harvest" White Riesling, which have alcohol contents as low as just 10 to 12 1/2 percent.

• Dry Wine - One lacking sweetness, with most or all of its sugar converted into alcohol by fermentation. Most table wines are dry to fairly dry--to complement the flavors of most foods prior to the dessert course.

• Extra Dry - Term used on a label to indicate that a sparkling wine is slightly sweet (contradictory but true!). See also "brut" and "sec."

• Flavored Wine - "Pop" wines are often flavored with citrus or other fruit. Vermouth is flavored with herbs and spices. Only natural flavors may be added to wine under Federal regulations.

• Fortified - Wine in which fermentation was stopped and the alcohol content increased by the addition of grape brandy. This process is used for sherries, ports, and other wines whose alcohol content reaches 16 to 18 percent--sometimes even more in very sweet wines.

• Generic - In the United States, our generic wines borrow European names, which have specific meanings in their own countries but not here. Examples include burgundy, Chablis, Rhine wine, and sauterne. Many wineries are phasing out such labels in favor of more descriptive and accurate names (see "varietal"). However, it's likely that burgundy (for an inexpensive red wine) and Chablis (for an inexpensive white) will be in use in America for quite some time.

• Late Harvest - A wine made from grapes picked after their juices are extra sweet and concentrated (see "Botrytis").

• Proprietary Wine - One carrying a name originated by a specific winery - essentially a brand name. Examples include Paul Masson's "Emerald Dry," Gallo's "Tryolia," and Christian Brothers' "Chateau LaSalle."

• Sec - A French word meaning "dry"; however, when applied to champagne it has come to indicate a medium sweet one (see "extra dry").

• Still Wine - Any non-sparkling wine.

• Table Wine - Red, white, or pink wines of 11 to 13 percent alcohol, suitable for serving with food.

• Varietal - Term used to indicate that a wine is made predominantly of the grape variety named on the label. For example, Zinfandel wine is supposed to be made from Zinfandel grapes. A new Federal law now specifies that a minimum of 75 percent of a varietal wine be made from the grape listed on the label.

• Vintage Wine - Wine from a single year named on the label, rather than a blend from several years. Vintage wines are necessarily good; there are fine years, average years, and poor years for most wines.

Red Wines

Red Wines	Description
Black Muscat	A thick and gooey dark Muscat variety, with intriguing examples in California and Australia.
Bordeaux Red Blends	Red Bordeaux, sometimes called Claret, is a wine made from a blend of different grape varieties. Although it varies from Chateau to Chateau, a typical red Bordeaux recipe might be 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, while a likely St. Emilion or Pomerol blend might be 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon.
Cabernet Franc	This grape is related to Cabernet Sauvignon, with more fruit-basket style fruit and less tannin. Less long-lived than its cousin, Cabernet Franc brings an herbal note ranging from slightly tobacco-flavored to pungently leafy. Used in Bordeaux, especially in Pomerol, but important in the Medoc as a blender. 100% Cabernet Franc wines are offered elsewhere in the world, notably in the Loire Valley where Chinon is the pinnacle.
Cabernet Sauvignon	One of the most famed and long-lived of grapes, it is found nearly everywhere in the world, but most famously grown in Bordeaux. In that region, Cabernet Sauvignon is usually blended with Merlot and Cabernet Franc. In Australia, it is often found with Shiraz as the blender. Notes of cherry, cedar and tobacco predominate and the grape's tannins sometimes make the wine tough to drink in its youth.
Mavrud	A fruity and powerful variety from Bulgaria with a potential to age fairly well.
Merlot	Often considered the "blending" grape of Bordeaux, this grape does offer softness on the Medoc. But it is the heart and soul of many, if not most, Pomerols and St. Emilions. In the New World, Merlot is widely available in varietally labeled offerings and intensely popular for its fruitiness and soft tannins (when grown with that style in mind). This is a grape that has been nearly as successful in its varied and diverse plantings throughout the world as Cabernet Sauvignon.

White Wines

White Wines	Description
Bordeaux White Blends	Among the dry white wines of Bordeaux, particularly Graves, a blend (varying in percentages) of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon is typical, with some 100% Sauvignon Blanc wines produced. Among sweet white wines, namely Sauternes, a typical recipe is 80% Semillon to 20% Sauvignon Blanc.
Chardonnay	The darling of American palates, Chardonnay is offered in the New World (outside western Europe) as big, creamy and juicy with copious amounts of oak. In Burgundy, it is more complex and long-lived, with less tropical and more mineral and apple flavors reflecting the cooler climate. Chardonnay is an essential grape for methode champenoise style wine around the world.
Folle Blanche	Grown in the Muscadet region of France, this grape is the heart and soul of traditional Armagnac. It is becoming rare there, and Cognac's easier-ripening Ugni Blanc has taken over. Some Folle Blanche Armagnacs still exist and are worth the search.
Muscat	The finest selection of the Muscat family, and a grape with several incarnations: Muscat Blancs a Petits Grains or Muscat Frontignan, Brown Muscat, Muscat d'Alexandria and Muscat Ottonel. Muscat a Petits Grains is the grape of southern French dessert wines (Muscat Beaumes de Venise), Italian wines (Goldenmuskateller), Italian sparklers (Moscato d'Asti and Asti Spumante), and even great Grecian wines (Samos). Brown Muscat is very rich and full in Australia's Liquer Muscats. Muscat d'Alexandria offers its best work as dessert on the northern Sicialian islands of Pantelleria, in southern France (Muscat de Lunel, Rivesaltes) and with Moscatel de Setubal in Portugal. Muscat Ottonel is a lighter, less-interesting subvariety. Black Muscat also exists as a very dark variety.
Verdejo	From the Rueda in Spain, this variety offers up very good dry and cassis-flavored white wines.

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