Reprinted from "Business Fashion", it should be explained more clearly.

Some people often compare the label of wine to its “ID card”. This is a very interesting and appropriate statement. In fact, there is no need to regard wine as mysterious. People who know it know how to tell the clues in the bottle from the wine label. The wine label is like the wine's ID card, and many mysteries can be seen from it.

Generally speaking, we can see two labels on a bottle of wine. Don't be surprised that every sign has its own meaning. What is affixed to the front of the wine is called the official label. The official label generally reflects a lot of information about the winery or winery, which is equivalent to the wine’s ID card, including the wine’s “birthday,” “ethnicity,” and “birthplace.” Wait a lot of information. These are very important because they can give you a basic understanding of the contents of the bottle before you open it. Therefore, many people who know wine will read them carefully before buying wine, so these are certainly worth learning and pondering.

For wines exported to other countries, especially wines imported from my country, there will also be a label on the back of the bottle, called a back label. What’s interesting is that the back label is very similar to our overseas passports. For wine, it is only used when exporting to other countries. The back label will contain information such as: 1. Where the wine comes from, the specific name of the winery, and other information. All kinds of wines stationed in China must have passed various customs import inspections. Therefore, according to my country's strict wine import standards, the back label must have information in Chinese, including the name of the wine, import or agent, shelf life, and alcohol content. , sugar content, etc. So even if you don’t speak English, French, or Italian, you can easily enjoy the fine wines from other places.

I have to admit, wine labels are really a headache. Unfamiliar wine labels and those unintelligible letters will always make people confused and even create a sense of distance. As a result, wine became distant and unfamiliar. In fact, this is not the case. Even if you don’t understand French, German, or Italian, you can still read the wine label of a wine. You only need to remember a few basic points, and you will find that identifying wine labels is so simple.

Just like the label on any product you buy in China, the wine label is nothing more than a "product label", which generally includes: country of origin, production area, year, capacity, alcohol Alcohol content, classification of the wine, and grape varieties (most wines from the old world such as France and Italy will not be labeled; if they are wines from the new world such as Australia and the United States, they will generally be labeled in detail.) Why be afraid of wine labels? After overcoming the psychological barrier, let's take a closer look and see where these contents are marked.

French wine labels

Let’s start with French wine labels. French wine labels are generally divided into two categories: one is the Bordeaux region category. On this type of wine label, you will often see a picture of the winery’s estate and rows of French text below the picture.

You often see words like this on the labels of Bordeaux wines:

Grand Cru Classé, which means "classified winery", is unique to Bordeaux. And through the official recognition announcement, the winery is rated as a unit. The current main classifications include the first five classified wineries selected in the Medoc region in 1855. In addition, there are also a number of classified wineries in the Graves production area. In the Saint-Emilion production area, Grand Cru Classé is the "Grand Cru Classé" among the classified wineries, and above it is the higher-level "Premier Grand Cru Classé".

The other category is the Burgundy production area. This type of wine label is often a dizzying line of flying text. If you don't understand French, you may not even be able to tell what letters are on it, let alone understand it.

However, it doesn’t matter if you can’t understand it, because you have to know that those flying strings of words are just the name of the manor. Not to mention you and I can’t understand it. If it weren’t for the postman who shuttles through that area all day long, I wouldn’t even be able to understand it. Local people may not know that much in detail. However, you can ignore it if you don’t understand it. There are some words that you still need to remember, such as: Grand Cru (the highest level of wine in Burgundy) and Premier Cru (first-class vineyard).

In addition, you must also understand the French wine grading system, from high to low, AOC, which is the highest level of French wine, that is, grapes from designated production areas; VDQS, excellent regional wine, because of this level The production of wine is very small and rarely seen in China; Vin de Pays, regional wine, is equivalent to wine on the market for about 300 yuan, and there are many cost-effective wines here; Vin de Table, which is what we often call daily table wine, This type of wine has the broadest restrictions and can be found in supermarkets and other stores.

Italian wine labels

In fact, once you have figured out the French wine labels, Italian wine labels are not difficult to understand. You only need to remember a few frequently appearing words and you can easily identify them. An Italian wine.

Italian wine is divided into four levels, which are very similar to French classification. From high to low, they are: DOCG, equivalent to French AOC; DOC, equivalent to French VDQS; and IGT is equivalent to Vin de Pays ;VdT is equivalent to Vin de Table.

You will also often see these words on Italian wine labels:

Riserva: It means that the second wine is stored for a period of time before being released on the market. It is usually a symbol of high quality. Classico: Usually refers to vineyards with better conditions in the production area. It usually follows the name of the production area

Classico Superiore: It means that the grape comes from the so-called Classico region and has a relatively high alcohol content

Fattoria, Tenuta, Padere, Azienda Agricola: These are wineries that both cultivate and produce wine.

Bianco: White wine Rosso: Red wine Rosato: Rose red wine Spumante: Sparkling wine

German wine labels

Compared with French and Italian wine labels It's much more orderly. Although most of the letters are not well understood, however, once you master the rules and remember a few words, everything will be easily solved.

The classification of German wines from high to low is: QmP, QbA, Landwein, Tafelwein.

Weingut: winery

Trocken: not sweet

Halbtrocken: slightly sweet

Eiswein: ice wine

Rotwein: Red Wine

Spanish Wine Labels

Spanish wine labels are quite attractive, good-looking and not fancy. With the previous foundation, Spanish wine labels are almost clear at a glance. . And its classification is only the highest level DOC level and the lower level DO. But these are not as meaningful as looking at its aging time. Generally, the longer the aging time is, the richer and more complex the taste, and the higher the price.

Bodega: winery

Crianza: higher quality wine that has been cultivated for a longer period of time (more than 2 years)

Reserva: passed through shepherds and bottles in accordance with regulations Medium culture, wine with excellent quality

Gran Reserva: wine cultured longer than Reserva, usually only produced in particularly good years

Seco: no sugar, Not sweet

New World Wine Labels

The wine labels of the New World (the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Chile, etc.) are more "people-friendly" because these wines Most of the labels are in English, which is simple and easy to read. There is no cumbersome grading system, and the grape varieties are also marked in the most conspicuous place. New World wines not only have bold and unrestrained tastes, but also often have unique designs on their labels. Some are abstract paintings, which perfectly combine art and wine; some are cute animal patterns. For example, some wineries in Australia have printed ostriches, lizards, kangaroos and other animals on their wine labels, which not only attracts people's attention, but also unintentionally It has won the favor of consumers; some have depicted stories from Greek mythology on wine labels; Marilyn Monroe has also become the new favorite of wine label designers... The good intentions of wineries are all in this small It’s reflected on the wine label.

Wine labels are now far more than just a product logo, but also a manifestation of culture. Although more people are still willing to focus on the quality of wine, it is undeniable that a good-looking wine label can indeed attract the attention of young consumers who are looking for change. Many people like to collect various wine labels. Every time they read it, it is like reading a history book. It is their own and that of wine. Bits and pieces of stories about relatives, lovers, and friends, the past events in the wine emerge one after another.