What tells us the label of a wine.

Each wine has a style, which is determined by factors such as the place where has occurred, the type of wine, grape variety or grapes, the year in which the grapes have been harvested, the aging time, etc.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment, in collaboration with the Spanish Wine Federation, FEV and the Spanish Federation of Hotels and Restaurants, FEHR has published an information brochure for distribution in catering establishments in which, among other information all the details contained in the label of a wine are explained.

The label

As a main part of the label the mark appears, the trade name chosen by the winemaker for its wine.

The following is the type of wine: table wine, sparkling wine, Sparkling Wine ...

This information is followed by the geographical name. If you recognized you the right to use the name of the place it comes from, it is accompanied by: Vino de la Tierra, quality wine with Geographical Indication, Designation of Origin Denomination of Origin and Wine Pago.

Red wine Wine Marques de Caceres Crianza Rioja D. O. 75 cl.€14.68White wine Cuatro Rayas Verdejo Rueda 750 ml.€9.98Pink wine El Coto D.O. Rioja 75 cl.€8.98

The following figure given on the label is the vintage, that is the year that has been collected (vintage) grapes.

Field dedicated to aging indicates how long the wine has been in oak barrels and bottled. For red wines are the most frequent mentions:

Aging: 24 months, of which at least 6 in oak barrels
Reservation: 36 months in barrels at least 12
Gran Reserva: 60 months in barrels at least 18
Then it reports on the variety of grape or grapes. In Spain more than 190 varieties are grown. The most commonly used are:

Red wines: Tempranillo, Garnacha, Monastrell
White: Airen, Albariño, Verdejo
Cava Macabeo, Xarel·lo, Parellada
Finos: Palomimo
Sweet wine: Moscatel, Pedro Ximénez
And finally a wine label indicates the amount of product (cl) and alcoholic thereof (%) degree.

Other information: message for allergy sufferers (contains sulfites), batch number, processor, sugar content (dry, semi-dry, semisweet and sweet), awards, etc.

SOURCE: diariodegastronomia.com