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Wine 101: How to Decode a French Wine Label
Posted on March 23, 2015March 23, 2015 by Bernadette Elizaga Trevias
Most domestic wine labels are pretty straightforward – you can see clearly when you’re
purchasing a Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, or Merlot. But venturing into foreign wines can
be a little intimidating for the uninitiated – a French wine label often omits varietal, and has a
bunch of notations (in French, bien sur) that don’t immediately make sense upon first read. Even
the most seasoned wine professional can get stumped by a wine label now and then – the
regulations for labeling wine vary by country, and each component may not be in the same place
each time. For new wine aficionados, reading wine labels can be overwhelming, so we’ll break
down a French wine label here for you.
Producer
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2. The company (or the wine’s trademarked name) must be on the label.
Vintage
The year the grapes were harvested for the wine. This is not always present on the main label –
some producers will use a neck label to denote vintage instead.
Appellation title or sub‑region
An appellation is an officially formed wine region within a country. For example, “Pauillac” is a
specific appellation within Bordeaux, a wine‑producing region in France. Each appellation must
abide by a set of regulations that dictate the quality and contents of the wine from that region, in
order to be considered a true wine of that appellation. “Appellation Origine Controlée” or, AOC,
will be on the label if the wine is produced according to these guidelines.
Varietal
Unlike many New World wines, French wines often don’t include the varietal on the wine label.
This is because each appellation has a specific type of grape(s) they are permitted to grow and
include in their wine, in order to qualify for an AOC labeling. For example, all wines with
a Bordeaux AOC denomination are limited to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cab Franc, Petit
Verdot, and Malbec for red wines, and Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscadelle, and a handful of
other white varietals for white wines, grown in very small quantities in the area.
Estate Bottling Information
The words “Mise en bouteille au Château” mean that the wine has been produced with grapes
grown and harvested in the winery’s own vineyards. If the winery uses grapes grown by
someone else (a negociant), the label may say “Mise en bouteille à la propriété” (bottled on property).
Other words to know on a French wine label:
Cru – “growth”, like “Grand Cru”
1er – French shorthand for “premier”, the French word for “first” (i.e. 1er Cru = “Premier Cru”)
Vielles Vignes – old vines
Blanc – white
Rouge – red
Millésime or Récolte – vintage/harvest date
Cuvée – house blend
Clos – translates as “an enclosure,” usually an enclosed vineyard (i.e. Clos du Caillou)
Crémant – sparkling wine not from the Champagne region (i.e. Crémant d’Alsace, Crémant de

3. Crémant – sparkling wine not from the Champagne region (i.e. Crémant d’Alsace, Crémant de
Bourgogne)
Have we left anything out? Please feel free to ask our wine experts questions in the comments
below. Santé!
Posted in Education Tagged Wine Education Leave a comment
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