Wine, that bottle of fermented fruit juice (usually grapes) with an alcoholic content. Traditionally in most countries, it is brought out to celebrate an event of some kind, such as a party, a romantic dinner or a celebratory occasion. But in European countries such as France, Spain, Greece and Italy, it is drunk with a meal, especially in France, where a bottle of wine is produced with lunch and dinner.
5 Basic Things to Help Understand a Wine Label
Producer or Name
The producer name is usually quite obvious or in some cases such as French wines, small text at the top or the bottom of the label. This tells you who made the wine. In the case of American wines, it’s important to note that some wine labels only bear a wine name and are branded wines from larger wine companies. Interested in label printing in Perth, W. Australia? Don’t forget to use an affordable and reputable company.
Region
The region illustrates from where the grapes were grown and sourced to produce the wine. A wine from a larger and perhaps a vaguer region, is typically a significant one; whereas a wine from a defined vineyard site often indicates a higher quality regional designation. If a wine comes from a specific vineyard site, that site will be indicated in quotations. Generally speaking, as you narrow the source to a specified site, the quality level becomes more refined and the price steepens.
Variety or Appellation
The variety refers to what kind of grape or grapes were used in making the wine. At the same time, many blends will not reveal the grape ingredients, nor the percentage that each bottle is made from. If there is no varietal given, try looking for the appellation, which can give you hints as to what varietals were used based on the laws governing that particular region. There are 15 nations with officially regulated appellations, though the severity of the laws and what matters does vary between each of them.
Vintage or Non-Vintage (NV)
The year that the grapes were harvested is the vintage. The vintage can tell you a lot about a wine if you have any familiarity with vintage variations. Greenlea Print in Perth is a professional and a renowned printing label outfit. Use only the very best! As a general rule, multi-vintage wines or “NV” wines are of a lower value, because they are a blend of different years’ harvests.
Alcohol by Volume (ABV)
The alcohol level can actually tell you a lot about a wine. Many European wine regions only allow their best quality wines to have 13.5% ABV and above. In other countries such as America, ABVs can be quite high (up to 17% on some dry wines) and the alcohol level is an indication of how rich the wine may taste. Many higher alcohol wines are made from riper grapes and tend to have more of a fruity kind of flavour. But this is a generalisation and not the case in all wines as there are always exceptions to the rule.