'Estate' is another designation that you'll often find on a wine's label and it, too, is regulated. This wine has an excellent quality for expensive grapes at little cost for the bottle. Virginia Dare Pinot Noir is identified as being from the Russian River Valley AVA and more than 85 percent of the grapes used to make this top-shelf wine are from the region, recognized as one of the finest areas in the entire world to grow Pinot Noir. Whatever designation a winemaker chooses, the vast majority of grapes must be grown in that place. Most vineyards exist within several AVAs. A viticultural area may be as small as, say, Rockpile, with fewer than 200 acres of grapes, and as large as Northern Sonoma, with 329,000 acres under vine. These place names are known casually as appellations, and, officially, in the United States, as American Viticultural Areas, or AVAs. If, for example, a wine label states 'Sonoma Coast,' a winemaker must have documentation that at least 85 percent of the grapes were grown there. Geographic names are also governed by regulations.

If a dominant wine is blended with other varietals, they are typically noted on the back label. This regulation applies to all varietal names. To call a wine Cabernet Sauvignon or Sauvignon Blanc, for example, 75 percent of a wine must come from the named varietal. Regulations also govern the use of varietal names. We play with shape, arrangement of information and, frequently, include stories about a wine and its inspiration. The Family Coppola has several proprietary names, from Roxanne, a Vermentino in our Storytellers series, to Archimedes, the Francis Ford Coppola Winery flagship wine, a luxurious Cabernet Sauvignon named in honor of Francis Ford Coppola's uncle.Īt The Family Coppola, we get very creative with our labels and the placement of both required and allowable information. Required governmental health warnings are typically placed on the back label of a wine.Ī proprietary name may be given to a wine instead of calling it by its varietal. Such labels note the name of the winery, a proprietary name if there is one, the variety of grape, the appellation, the year of production-i.e., vintage-and the amount of alcohol. Some wineries keep label details simple indicating just the facts.

Winemakers must keep a close eye on alcohol measurements, though the TTB understands that it can be difficult to estimate the percentage of alcohol before a wine is ready for bottling. Taxes are based on this percentage and the TTB allows only a very small variation between what is in the bottle and what is on the label. The percentage of alcohol a wine contains is a crucial label element. Generally, it takes from three to six months for a label to be created and approved, which is sometimes a challenge because a wine might still be in production, which means certain required details, such as percentage of alcohol, are not yet available. As long as a winemaker maintains accurate records, audits are straightforward and not cause for concern or alarm. Each detail must be supported by verifiable data, real-time records and machine calibrations, which have to be made available in the event of an audit. The TTB does not simply take a producer's word for the accuracy of label information. American wine labels, for example, cannot include 'Champagne' or 'Beaujolais' because they are actual places in France. The name cannot include an area if it is not origin of the wine. The name of a winery, a wine's brand name, must be unique and cannot be misleading.

A wine label is, in essence, a legal document.Įvery word and image that goes onto a label is governed by regulations established and enforced by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). It is the face of a wine, yet even the most engaging image is more than a pretty face. There is no denying that a wine's label is the first thing we notice. Decoding a Wine Label at the Grocery Store Wine Hacks By Humberto Berlanga

Coppola wine labels