Between bottles: A primer on deciphering wine labels

Understand Labels, Explore Regions, and Discover Your Unique Palate

Among the many wonders of wine is its sheer versatility. It can be as straightforward as a vessel for alcohol: a chilled bottle of the cheapest white wine on the shelf to placate nagging sobriety. On the other hand, wine can be as intricate and involved as researching which years in Tuscany saw the least rainfall — or if Mercury being in retrograde affected the grapes.

How you enjoy your wine is entirely up to you. But if you’re feeling bold, adventurous, and eager to expand your boozing repertoire beyond your reliable favourites, here’s a primer to get your foot in the door.

First, for Ontario readers, a preamble on the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) stores. The LCBO is the world’s largest purchaser of wine and the biggest influence on what wines are consumed in the province. When you enter one of these stores, you are greeted with an intimidating sprawl of shelves, awash in bottles, bearing every label from every wine region in the world. For the uninitiated, deciphering these dizzying hieroglyphics can seem futile, relegating you to choosing which label looks the chicest — or worse, comparing their sugar content.

Moreover, it only adds insult to injury that the LCBO’s “Vintages” designation is a confusing misnomer. In the wine world, a vintage — or the year seen on the label — indicates when the grapes from that bottle were harvested. Conversely, a non-vintage wine is a blend of grapes from different vintages.

By contrast, the LCBO’s “Vintages” section is simply their own curation of wines that they deem befitting for distinction. Ironically, it even includes non-vintage wines such as the dreaded Meiomi Pinot Noir from California. So don’t overlook wines outside this wood-panelled clique, as they hold some of the LCBO’s best-value gems.    

Beyond the vintage or lack thereof, the next thing to look for on the wine label is whatever words are in the biggest, boldest font. This will generally convey what kind of wine it is.

Here’s a general rule of thumb: the wine world is divided into the ‘old world’ — which is Europe — and the ‘new world’ — which is every other wine-producing country today. Wines from the old world are usually named after the region in which they are made, while wines from the new world are named after the type of grape they are made from. 

For instance, peruse the French section, and you’ll invariably come across bottles labelled Bordeaux: this is both the type of wine and its region. Bordeaux is predominantly a blend — also called a cuvée, to sound more pretentious — of grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. In California, such a wine would instead just be labelled Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot, based on the predominant grape — legally, the wine only needs to contain 75 per cent of the stated grape variety to be labelled as such. Winemakers will typically tinker with the blend and the ratios from year to year to achieve a desired flavour profile.

When judging the quality of a wine based solely on its label, a useful rule of thumb is to look at how geographically specific the label is. Wine regions are often divided into smaller appellations—designated and protected sub-regions dedicated to wine production. The more specific the appellation mentioned on the label, the more likely the wine adheres to stricter production standards and reflects the unique characteristics of that particular area.

Take Bordeaux in Southwestern France, a renowned wine region home to specific appellations like Saint-Émilion and Pauillac. Each appellation has its own winemaking regulations, governing aspects such as oak aging and permitted grape varieties. A budget Bordeaux might source grapes broadly from the larger Bordeaux region, whereas a higher-priced bottle may feature grapes exclusively from a Saint-Émilion vineyard. The more narrowly the grapes are sourced, the more the wine reflects its specific origin. This doesn't guarantee that you'll love the wine, but it helps explain why such wines often command higher prices.

To the disappointment of many wine novices, there is no single metric or label marking that can guarantee you’ll love a wine. Your palate is unique and evolves over time; a wine that delights you in your early twenties might lose its appeal in your mid-twenties and become less enjoyable by your thirties. The only way to know if you’ll like a wine is to take the gamble and explore.

But this unpredictability is part of the fun. As you sample wines from different regions, you’ll quickly discover a preference for some over others—Southern Rhône in France was my first favorite. You begin to associate wines not just with brands or wineries, but with their regions, embracing their sense of place, which includes climate, altitude, soil, and geography. This regional connection is why wine enthusiasts often obsess over a particular year’s rainfall in Tuscany like addled astrologists. 

While party staples like seltzers and vodka sodas offer predictable consistency, they lack the intrigue and dynamic complexity of wine. How often have you heard someone ask, “What kind of seltzer is that? Was that a good year for White Claw?” Wine, on the other hand, is ever-evolving. Even after it has been bottled and sealed with a cork, it continues to slowly oxidize and mature, subtly changing its character with each passing year.

As you embark on your vinous journey, remember that the world of wine is vast, brimming with nuances waiting to be discovered. Every bottle you uncork allows you to travel through terrains and time, from verdant valleys to ancient vineyards. 

But don’t let the jargon on wine labels deter you. The next time you’re at your local LCBO, be intrepid. Even if you don’t immediately fall in love with a wine halfway through the bottle, such distinctions between wine often blur into languid enjoyment. Wine is a lifelong journey of discovery that begins with a single bottle. Or two.

First published at The Varsity.