Among my many goals in life is to become fluent in French. Yet, sometimes even when you speak/read the same language, it can still be difficult to translate the precise meaning of the words in front of you. If this sounds like you in the wine store, this month’s newsletter will help you become bilingual — you’ll learn how to speak wine label.

In the same vein of continuing education, Tracy will head to Sacramento later this month for the Society of Wine Educators (SWE) annual conference. Arriving prior to the start of the main conference activities, she will co-facilitate the society’s Certified Wine Educator Preview course, before immersing herself in three full days of wine seminars.

Grand Cru Classes proctored SWE’s first level exam – the Certified Specialist of Wine – this past April. The self-tutorial course is appropriate for both enthusiasts and wine trade, alike. We may schedule future test dates at our Mattituck facility, so if you have an interest in sitting for this exam, please let us know.

Finally, we are thrilled to announce the launch of two new classes. Where the Bargains Are: The Best Wines for the Budget-Conscious will join our class schedule in August and All that Glitters is not Champagne, which will focus on bargain bubblies, will debut in October, just in time for holiday party planning.

Drink wisely and well,

Tracy Ellen Kamens, Ed.D., DWS, CWE
CEO: Chief Education Officer

and

Jared Michael Skolnick
COO: Cork Opening Officer

DO YOU SPEAK WINE LABEL?

Wandering through the wine store’s aisles, a wombat stares at you from the shelf. You stare back. You wonder what the furry critter has to do with wine, but he keeps staring and is, in fact, quite cute. You decide to take him (and the bottle) home. Besides, you really don’t know what all of the other text on the label is really telling you, so why not choose a wine by its label? Admittedly, wine labels can indeed be quite confusing if you don’t know what to look for. However, with this simple tutorial, you can easily crack their code. 

What’s in a name?
First, we’ll start with the front label, which usually includes the name of the producer, name of the wine (if applicable)/grape variety, vintage and origin. The name of the producer is generally synonymous with the brand, i.e. Kendall-Jackson. If the wine contains a minimum of 75% of one particular grape (with higher percentages required in Oregon and the EU), the grape variety may be named on the label. If the respective minimum is not met, such as the case with wines blended from several different grapes, a wine may have a fantasy name, i.e. Insignia (from producer Joseph Phelps), which is simply a made-up name used to differentiate or designate a given wine. 

A vintage year
The vintage refers to the year in which the grapes were harvested, which may not the year the wine is released. If grapes from multiple harvests are blended together, the wine is considered to be non-vintage, usually abbreviated NV. This is very common in Champagne and Port, where vintages are only declared in great years.

I come from a land down under
Another important piece of information is its appellation of origin – the name of the place where the grapes were grown. Depending upon how large a net was cast, so to speak, the origin can be as big as a single country or as small as a named vineyard (which will also include the area in which the vineyard is located). In the U.S., our officially recognized wine regions are known as American Viticultural Areas (AVAs for short). In order to use a particular appellation of origin, a required minimum percentage of the grapes must come from that country, state or county (and their foreign equivalents). A higher proportion of grapes from a particular AVA is required to use the name of the AVA on the label.

I guarantee it
If a wine is labeled as Estate Bottled, 100% of the grapes were grown on land owned or controlled by the producer and located within a viticultural area and the wine was wholly made on the producer’s premises, which must lie within the same viticultural area as the grapes.

The rub with alcohol
Also on the label is the alcohol content, expressed as alcohol by volume. There are an increasing number of high (above 13.5%) alcohol wines on the market (frequently due to higher ripeness levels at harvest), and with slight fluctuations permitted, actual alcohol levels in that 15.5% labeled wine might really be closer to 16%. This may account for why the same one glass of wine with dinner now knocks you out.

Over there
In Europe, winemaking is a much older, more established art. Consequently, wines are entrenched in their particular regions and must adhere to strict laws, which permit what they can do and restrict what they can’t. Deviations from these laws mean that the wine in question may no longer be labeled as a quality wine, but rather as a table wine. Quality wines are labeled with the origin of appellation, but do not generally feature the grape varieties on the label, although this addition seems to be changing, at least for wines bottled for the U.S. Therefore, these wines are a bit more difficult to decipher if you are not familiar with the grape varieties and/or wine styles in that region. All the more reason to find a good local wine store and ask questions (or take a wine class with us). 

Now that you know how to read a wine label, you’ll be able to make a more informed decision about buying that wombat.

Tasting Notes

Some warm weather wines to cool you off this summer.

Badger Mountain Vineyards Pure White NV, Columbia Valley, WA, USA, $22.00 (3 liter)
An organic white in a box, this blend of 60% Semillon and 40% Muller-Thurgau has a very floral nose followed by a clean and citrus medium-bodied palate with a hint of herbal character.

Frederic Mallo Selections, Pinot Blanc “Special Delivery”, 2006, Alsace, France, $12.99
This slightly off-dry wine has lots of ripe, peach notes with a medium-full body and nice minerality.

Volteo, Viura + Viognier 2008, Vinho de la Tierra de Castilla, Spain, $9.00
A blend of Viura and Viognier, along with some Sauvignon Blanc, this easy-quaffing wine provides youthful aromas of citrus and tropical fruit, while the dry palate has flavors of citrus, peach and peach pit.

Domaine Spiropoulos Meliasto 2008, Peloponnese, Greece, $12.99
This dry rose hails from mainland Greece and is comprised of 70% of the indigenous Moschofilero grape. Almost Gewurztraminer-like on the nose, the wine presents with aromas of spice, lychee and floral, which are followed by similar flavors on the palate, culminating in a long length.

Orleans Hill, Zinfandel 2007, Amador County, CA, USA, $9.95
This sulfite-free, organic wine has bright berry aromas with a medium+ body and notes of raspberry and earth, along with an herbal undercurrent.