My name is Hayley and I’m a wine novice.
Now that I’ve confessed my sins, I can begin on the road to redemption. I’m here to help those of you who are also starting from the beginning. We’ll learn together, in layman’s terms, de-mystifying wine one sip at a time!
Being completely new to the wine industry, my first few weeks at Bon Coeur centred around learning the basics. Looking to build a solid foundation, I spent my time perusing the shelves of Cellar 21, whilst trying to grapple information from Bon Coeur’s carefully curated brochure. Trying to make sense of the labels was more challenging than I’d anticipated. A series of (often foreign) words, in no standard order and rarely sectioned by punctuation, the prose would roll into one long, conundrum.
Those long-since-familiar with the wonderful world of wine, will likely struggle to remember looking at a label with uninformed eyes.
My tip would be to start with just the one country at a time, (I found myself drawn to France), and try to learn the geographical location of the regions. From there, you will soon learn which grape varieties grow where, which wines are produced in each region and the Chateaus that make them.
Why do I need to understand wine labels?
Understanding the label will give you a better idea about the juice inside. It will give you guidance to exactly what you are buying, how it should taste and can even help you spot a bargain!
Knowing which parts you need to take notice of is essential.
Most labels will contain certain key information:
Producer – the wine maker. Can be a family name or place name, for example Louis Latour or Chateau Pedesclaux. Many producers have a signature ‘style’.
Region – also known as appellation. The region in which a wine is produced is a key indicator of what it will taste like. Pinot Noir produced in Burgundy, France, will not taste the same as a Pinot Noir from California, because of the different environmental conditions and techniques used by each vineyard – these varying factors are collectively known as terrior.
Name - not all wines have names. Wines made in the Old World (Frnce, Italy, Spain, Portugal) are often named after the region they were produced in, whereas New World wines (USA, Austrailia etc) are usually named after the grape variety. For example, in the New World, wine made primarily of Chardonnay would be labelled as such, however, in the Old World it would be labelled Chablis, because the Chardonnay grapes were grown in the Chablis region.
Quality level – not all labels show a quality level, yet some of the better-quality wines take the opportunity to let you know that this is good stuff! In other words, if they have displayed a quality level, it’s probably pretty decent wine. Each region will use different terminology when ‘grading’ their wines. For example, in Burgundy, their top tier is regarded ‘grand cru’, followed by ‘premier cru’, then the ‘name of the village’ it was produced in, with the ‘region name’ being their final quality level tier. As a general rule of thumb, the more specific the region, the higher the rank.
Vintage – the year the grape was harvested. Vintage is important to take note of as there could be some variation between your favourite 2015 Chablis, and the 2016 offering.
ABV – alcohol by volume, the % of alcohol in the bottle. 12-15% is the average. Under 12% will contain more residual sugar resulting in a sweeter wine, whereas over 15% would be considered a fortified wine, think Port, Sherry etc.
Grape – Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Malbec. All are well-known grape varieties used in wine making that most people recognise, but there’s many more which are harder to extrapolate. Research grape varieties and familiarise yourself with them – you’ll soon see them jumping out at you when you’re next browsing the shelves. Before long, you’ll be able to identify those that most please your palate and what it is about them that you enjoy.
Building your wine knowledge is no different to developing any other skill, the more time and effort you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it. There’s an unlimited amount of information out there. Rules change from region to region, not just country to country, so please don’t be disheartened when you’re not an ‘expert’ in a matter of weeks.
Grab a bottle, pour a glass, pull up a map and enjoy – wine should be fun!
Don’t forget, you can call into Cellar 21 (Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 10am-5pm) and our passionate, knowledgeable team will be more than happy to answer any questions and point you in the right direction.
