American Wine Labeling Laws Made Easy

A little knowledge can go a long way in improving whats in your glass!

Have you ever bought wine based solely on the bottle’s artwork or color (or worse – because a cute animal graced the label)?

Have you ever been baffled by nuanced terms (“made” versus “produced”) and their meaning on a wine bottle?

Do you enjoy drinking wine?

If you answered “yes,” then this article is for you!

Lets get the basics out of the way…

 

•  Brand Name = self explanatory, or is it…? Many wineries have a  2nd label or more. A second label is a completely different product line usually being of a lower quality wine then their first label. They do this to separate their two wines into lower and higher quality one. They don’t want to tarnish the image/brand name of the higher quality wine with the lower quality one (this one is always more affordable).
•  Special Designation =  there is no law governing what they can put here. Sometimes one might see “Cru,” “Reserve,” “Grand Reserve,” “Old Vine,” etc. There is no definition for what these terms mean in the market!  These designations are selected by the winemakers and their companies to be descriptive and appealing in nature; you have to know the wineries and their wine makers to understand why a wine is “Reserve” or not. In some cases companies may select an especially favored section of the vineyard before harvest for their premium wines – other times, the selection is made just before bottling. The distinction of why one term was used and not another may often seem arbitrary to us; luckily, one of the great joys found in visiting a wine tasting room is to learn!
•  Wine Type =  Ever pick up a California Cabernet Sauvignon from the grocery store, believing it’s 100% what the label claims? Would you be shocked to know your bottle may contain up to 25% chardonnay mixed in? SURPRISE! Generally speaking, geographic and varietal labels are regulated and determined areas called American Viticultural Areas (AVAs). Only 75% of your bottle must be of a specific type if the AVA claimed is a state (California, Washington, etc.). Purity increases to 85% if it’s a regional AVA, and 95% if it is from a specific winery. 100% or your bottle must be the same if the company claims it’s from a specific section within the vineyard. Unfortunately, there’s no real way to know your exact bottle’s birth place. Why do vintners and wineries do this? There can be many reasons. Originally, this wine law was passed to give American wine makers more freedom in making wine compared to their European counterparts (they have VERY strict laws). But as you all know money is the bottom line here, so MANY wineries add in a little bit of wine (25% or less) of another varietal because that one didn’t make the cut, or it’s just plane cheaper to produce and they sell it that way (to us, the unwitting customers!). Some winemakers may also do this to get more of a specific desired flavor. I’m a huge fan of the wineries that put the percentage breakdown on their label; when you visit a tasting room, you should always ask if it is 100%! Remember, if it’s marketed as a blend, the percentages matter less than what the varietal breakdown is.
• Alcohol Content = The alcohol content by volume with a tolerance of plus or minus 1.5%, for bottles claiming 14% or less. For bottles claiming over 14%, tolerance is reduced to within 1.0%.
• Vintage = The year the grapes were harvested.
• Estate Bottled = Term regarding the role of the bottler/producer.

These are the most significant required marks on the front label of a wine bottle… but wait! Have you ever noticed that some markings are missing from the front? Quite often they’re hiding on the back (especially regarding the role of the bottler/producer). Wine producers either do this to enhance a specific image on the store shelf, or to quite blatantly to hide information from you. How many times have you turned a bottle around at the store?

Lets delve more into the terms regarding the role of the bottler and producer.

You will see one or maybe two (and on rare occasion three) of the following terms on your wine bottle:

• Bottled by = The producer had very little to do with this wine’s production. The minimum involvement only relates to bottling the wine, as it is often purchased from a third party that actually produced and bulk-aged the wine. This is a great indicator of lower quality wine.
• Cellared by = Wineries which typically buy their wines form another source and then bottle and age it on their premises. There are no legal restrictions for the length of aging. Again, another common indicator of lower quality wine.
• Vinted by = This wine was purchased already bottled, and was on the premises of the listed producer. Another indictor of lower quality wine.
• Made and bottled by = Used when a producer ferments at least 10% of the wine and then bottles it on their premises; the other 90% comes from a third party source. Surprise! Another indicator of a lower quality wine.
• Estate grown = A vintner that controls all the grape growing on its land but that does not crush or bottle on its property. Legally this title means nothing – so a tricky indicator of quality.
• Produced and bottled by = To use this term, the stated producer must have crushed and fermented at least 75% of the wine and bottled and aged it on their premises. Often, this is a somewhat reliable indictor of quality wine.
• Grown, produced and bottled by = The producer must grow the grapes used in the wine in the vineyards they own or control, and then produce at least 75% of the wine on their premises before bottling it. A great indictor of real quality wine!
• Estate Bottled = The strictest term governed on a wine label. It guarantees that the producer grew 100% of the grapes for the wine in the vineyards it owns or controls through LONG TERM leases. The wine must be fermented, aged, and bottled on the premises of the producer in the same wine making region where the grapes were grown. Almost always great quality wine.
• If you see two or more these term on the bottle it just means they meet two or more of the terms. Most commonly they will combine Bottled, Vinted, and or Cellared. 

Tricks and slight of hands the wine companies use to lure you in and buy there product:

1. They don’t list an AVA or a state, just their brand name. This mostly likely means that they are sourcing their grape/juice outside the state and don’t want you to know.
2. The brand name incorporates the word “estate” in their title. Check to see that it is “Produced and bottled by” or higher. If it is not, they are trying to trick you.
3. Slapping an extra sticker on the bottle. I see this one in Texas a lot. There will be an extra sticker that says “for sale in Texas only.” Guess what, the grapes/juices are not from Texas.
4. Confusing labeling on where the was bottled and where the grapes were grown. By law, companies must say where the grape is grown and bottled; in many instances they are one and the same. BUT sometimes you will get wine from a sub par AVA in California and then have it bottled in Napa.
5. Sometimes they outright lie. There are very small repercussions for wrong labeling of their wine and it is hard to enforce.

 

Time for some visual examples:

• 75% Cabernet Sauvignon from the North Coast of California 2016, but bottled in NAPA.  Vinted and Bottled by

 

• Estate Bottled, enough said

• Great example of a winery not trying to hide anything from the consumer. They tell you the percentage breakdown. Produced and Bottled by.

• This is a great example of a winery trying to hide something (or forgot to put it on the label) They don’t list any AVA or state. They only mention that they’re a small “estate” winery, which really means nothing. They list the location where the wine was cellared and bottled, but we have no idea where this wine actually comes from. Don’t believe me? Look at the picture below. Their next two bottles say 100% New York and have the term Produced and Bottled by.

 

I hope everyone reading this learned something new. Next time you’re in your local grocery store, try finding more than one bottle which was “Produced” AND “Bottled by” – good luck! I recently visited my local Total Wine store, and all the bottles which were on the top shelf were “Produced and Bottled by” or higher, and all the bottles laying flat were ALL lower ratings (see picture below).

Disclaimer I have had very good high quality wines that were of “Made and bottled by” and below designation, BUT they were few and far in between.

#knowwhereyourwinecomesfrom