Wine Label Speaks!

Walking into a wine establishment can be overwhelming.  In a sea of wine labels and rows and rows of neatly spaced bottles, I can easily find myself a bit disoriented with information overload!  Are there certain things to look for across the board, county to county or of course country to country? One of the first things to hit is is the vintage, or year.  This number indicates harvest quality from a vineyard or district during one season and can help one distinguish a good year from a mediocre year.  There are vintage charts that you can carry in your pocket  that can help you to make more educated decisions about the vintage of a wine, whether 2007 was a great year for Cabernet from Napa or Pinot Noir from the Russian River.  The vast majority of wines at the store are meant to be consumed fairly quickly, depending on the varietal, and the vintage gives us the 'mark' from which to judge...for instance, a 2010 or 2011Sauvignon Blanc might be perfect to drink right away a Cabernet Sauvignon would be a tad young to drink now, but a 2004 Cabernet will have had enough time to mature and exhibit softer qualities.  The vintage can also be an indicator as to if the wine is potentially beyond its prime, for instance a 2003 Chardonnay is probably past it's best.  The next thing I always check is the alcohol content of the wine which is usually in very tiny print along the side or back of the label.  I realize here in California we are blessed with longer, sunnier growing seasons which tend to push the alcohol levels a little higher.  In France where they have shorter and cooler growing seasons the alcohol levels tend to be generally lower.  I am not a fan of 'big' alcohol in wines, but many classic wines are just high due to their region.  I personally like to keep the wines I choose at  between 13% and 14.5%.  Rose wines at the 13% and Zinfandel at the 14.5% mark.  Moving on, I look next at the geography information. This is one of the most important things on the label and the more specific it is, the better for me.  The locations Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino or others give you a clear picture of the places that the wines 'roots' are formed and then as you get more specifics in terms of the appellation (Alexander Valley, Stags Leap etc.)  and even down to the specific vineyard, you can narrow down the potential quality of the wine.  For instance, I know that any wine I order crafted from the Bien Nacido Vineyards is going to be a quality wine because of the strict outlines that they mandate for anyone who makes wine from their vineyards. Next time you find a wine that you really enjoy, take note of the vineyard and look for it next time you make a wine purchase.  I know you have seen the term Estate-bottled on a wine label, Estate-bottled wines must come strictly from grapes that are either owned by the winery or under its direct viticulture control through a long term lease. In addition, the wine must be completely produced, aged, and bottled at the winery. The winery itself, as well as all of the grapes used, must be from the same appellation of origin, and that appellation must be designated on the wine's label. This is generally a good sign and indicates a better quality.  One last comment, I used to think that the words 'Reserve Wine' truly indicated that the wine was of a higher quality, but this not always the case.  Once again it boils down to the vintage and the region in which it was grown. Have fun exploring the label on your wine...it will give you great insights before you pop the bottle! 
Here are some labels to enjoy

 2009 Flowers Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
"This is consistently one of the most restrained and delicate pinots you'll find in California. A blend from far-coast sites, in 2009 this is 30 percent from Flowers' Sea View Ranch, plus fruit from the DZ and Peterson vineyards and other western Sonoma sites in the Sebastopol and Occidental areas. It's long on strawberry and cranberry-scented fruit, layered with the complexity that far-coast pinot can attain, a complexity that seems to be tied to the acidic, ridge-top soils where conifer forests once thrived.

2006 Arbios Cellars Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
“Deep, ruby color. The nose reveals classic Alexander Valley Cabernet characteristics of dense cherry with some Old World notes of earth, spice, cedar, and moderate alcohol. The palate continues in this vein revealing a stylish Cabernet with many layers of depth. Blackberry and cassis flavors are flanked by accents of earth, allspice, vanilla, cocoa, and oak. A very stylish wine with great complex flavors, ideal balance and above all, charm.”

2010 Seghesio Sonoma Zinfandel
Seghesio family roots are firmly planted in Zinfandel as their Great-Grandfather, Edoardo Seghesio, first planted Zinfandel on their Alexander Valley Home Ranch in 1895. Today, their passion is shared as they farm over 400 acres of estate Zinfandel in the worlds best growing regions for the grape -- Alexander and Dry Creek Valleys. This wine combines sites that have produced Zinfandel for over a century with newer sites that utilize proprietary clones and the most advanced viticultural practices.

Cheers!