One of the most baffling subjects that confronts the budding wine
enthusiast is the deciphering of the myriad of information contained on
the bottle label, especially that contained on wine bottles from
European countries. Once the basic rules are taken on board it becomes
a lot simpler. Whereas most New World countries put details of the
grape varieties on the front label, a lot of European regions do not,
and as this is the most basic of information for taste purposes why is
this the case?
European winemakers tend to put more emphasis on the place of origin.
For instance, a Bordeaux red typically wont say ‘Cabernet’ or ‘Merlot’
on the front label, but instead have the name of the chateau where it
was made, and usually the part of Bordeaux where it was made, for
example Haut-Medoc. Similarly a Sancerre is totally Sauvignon Blanc,
but an in depth analysis of the label will leave you none the wiser.
For the French the important factor is that the wine comes from
Sancerre in the Loire valley and for them it is inbred knowledge that
white Sancerre is Sauvignon Blanc.
Moving south to Spain, red Rioja declares itself as Rioja on the label,
not Tempranillo the grape variety used, whilst in Italy most Tuscan
reds have no information on the Sangiovese grape that is most widely
used in these wines. Given this mish-mash of information it is no
wonder that many of us head for that bottle with the label announcing
it is a Chardonnay Viognier from the Ironstone Vineyard of California.
It is clear then that the Europeans believe the most important factor
influencing a wine’s character is the soil, climate and culture of the
area where the grape is grown and this is particularly important to
single-vineyard wines who make the most of capturing the essence of a
particular area of land. So whereas a French winemaker will see his
wine as reflecting the character of a particular region, a New World
winemaker mad about grape varieties will consider that soil is just the
growing medium in which the fruit grows, and that the grape variety and
hard work in the winery are what really counts. Today these two
opposing approaches to wine labelling are moving closer together with
New World producers emphasising their regionality and its
characteristics, whilst European, even the parochial French winemakers
possibly prompted by the wholesalers and the supermarkets are labelling
their wines more clearly.
