Contents[Hide]

Wine Classifications Deciphered

Defining the Basic Wine Classifications

By Appellation

The appellation classification refers to the place where the wine grapes are grown. This method is most apparent in the classification of traditional wines such as Bordeaux, Rioja, Mosel and Chianti. These naming conventions, or "appellations," dictate not only where the grapes were grown but also which grapes went into the wine and how they were vinified. Up until recently, certain countries did not take this classification method seriously, but with the 2005 Napa Declaration to Protect Wine Place and Origin, the guidelines for appellation categorization have become more strict.

By Vinification

  • Sparkling wines  and semi-sparkling wines are classified by measuring the wine's carbon dioxide content at designated conditions. Sparkling wine categories and labels include:
    • "Bottle Fermented" (also labelled as "Méthode Traditionelle" and "Méthode Champenoise"): Sparkling wines that are carbonated by the traditional method of bottle fermentation--this includes champagne and its international equivalents Sekt or Schaumwein (Germany), Cava (Spain), and Spumante (Italy).
    • Blanc de blancs : Appears on Champagne labels. A wine made entirely from white grapes, in other words, Chardonnay.
    • Blanc de noirs : A Champagne made from black grape varieties, namely Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.
    • Crémant: Sparkling wines made outside the Champagne region using the traditional method.
    • Semi-sparkling: Semi sparkling wines include Frizzante (Italy), Vino de Aguja (Spain) and Petillant (France).
  • Still wines are wines that have not gone through the sparkling wine methods. The complex reasoning behind their detection is that they are so obvious, you may be looking too hard. Still wines include all wines not labelled as sparkling or semi-sparkling. 
  • Dessert wines  range from just slightly sweet to incredibly sweet wines. These include Spätlese, Recioto and Vin Santo (Italy), Vinsanto (Greece), Sauternes (Bordeaux, France), Bonnezeaux and Quarts de Chaume (Loire, France), Tokaji Aszú (Hungary), Tokaj (Slovakia), and Beerenauslese (Germany and Austria), and Eiswein  (Niagara and Okanagan regions in Canada, Germany, and Austria).
    • Botrytized: Mostly referred to the wines that are made using grapes affected by the fungus Botrytis cinerea. In its beneficial form, the condition is also known as 'noble rot'. The affected berries split resulting in the loss of water leaving behind a higher percentage of solids especially sugars. This results in wines high in residual sugar and concentrated flavor. An example of a wine from our database - Alban 375mL Oechsle Botrytized Viognier Rousanne.
    • Noble: Similar to Botrytized. An example - Vinoptima Noble Gewurztraminer 2004 Gisborne.
    • Late Harvest: Wines left on the vine longer to attain higher sugar levels. Example - Chateau Ste. Michelle Ethos Late Harvest Riesling 2005 375ml.
    • Ice Wine: Wines produced from grapes that have been naturally frozen while still on the vine. The idea is to separate the frozen water during pressing, leaving behind a liquid with higher dissolved sugars and other solids which do not freeze. Inniskillin 2006 Riesling Niagara Peninsula Ice Wine.
    • SGN: Sélection de Grains Nobles. A quality classification in Alsace which literally means 'select harvesting of berries affected by the noble rot'. Example - Tokay Pinot Gris Heimbourg SGN Zind-Humbrecht, Alsace.
    • VT: Vendange Tardive. An Alsace classification meaning wines made from late harvested grapes. Example - Albrecht Riesling VT 96.
    • TBA: Trockenbeerenauslese. 'Dry berry selection'. These grapes are left on the vine for the longest period which helps them reach a raisin-like state resulting in wines that are extremely concentrated and sweet. Example - 1959er Wehlener Sonnenuhr TBA J.J. Prüm
    • VDN: Vin doux Naturel. Literally a wine with high level of natural (residual) sugar achieved by fortifying the wine before the fermentation is finished.
    • Ruby Port : An inexpensive style of port wine that does not improve with age and hence retains its rich ruby color.
    • Tawny Port : A port wine often aged for a long period in wooden barrels with some oxygen contact (oxidation) resulting in a wine which attains a golden-brown color hence the name tawny. They are often preceded by number of years of the average age of the blend.
    • Colheita: A tawny port from a single vintage therefore instead of the number of years (like 10 year old, 20 year old and so on), the year is mentioned on the label.
    • LBV: Late Bottled Vintage. A port wine that is aged for a longer time in wooden casks than a vintage port (which improves in the bottle). LBVs can be filtered or unfiltered.
    • Crusted Port: Named such because the wine throws a crust or deposit due to bottle ageing. They are blends of several vintages.
    • Single Quinta Vintage Port: A house speciality and a high quality port wine made from grapes sourced from single vineyards which normally produce the fruits for vintage ports in declared years.
    • Vintage Port : Best quality of port wine only made in exceptional years. They age in the bottle for decades.
    • Fino : A style of sherry that is the driest and palest in colour.
    • Manzanilla: A sherry matured in the Spanish coastal town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda. A distinct character of this wine is its salty tang.
    • Amontillado : A variation of Fino sherry. It is first matured as a Fino followed by a long and slow oxidative maturation resulting in a wine with some flavour characteristics of Fino but is much darker in color due to age.
    • Oloroso : A sherry oxidatived for a long time resulting in a dark and rich wine.
    • Cream Sherry : An artificially sweetened sherry.
    • PX: Stands for the grape variety Pedro Ximénez. A luscious sherry mostly produced from semi-dried grapes.
  • Fortified wines  are often sweeter, and generally more alcoholic than dessert wines, and they have had their fermentation process stopped by the addition of a spirit, such as brandy, or have had additional spirit added after fermentation. Examples include Port, Madeira and Banyuls.
  • Other vinification classifications:
    • Table wines: Unless a wine has more than 14% alcohol, or it is sparkling, it is a table wine or a light wine, and is generally classified according to its correspondence with the colours "white," "red," or "rosé". These are often cheaper wines that do not indicate grape variety or region of origin on the labels.
    • Cooking wine or cooking sherry refers to inexpensive grape wine or rice wine (in China and other East Asian countries), and its sole purpose is to add flavouring to food. Cooking wines are convenient for cooks because of their long shelf life, but they are not widely used by professional chefs, as they believe the added preservative (in most cases salt) significantly lowers the quality of the wine, and consequently the food made with that wine. Because cooking wine is considered a wine of such poor quality, most professional chefs prefer to cook with inexpensive but drinkable wines, and recommend that others do so too. Really, if you cannot drink it, why should you eat it?

By Vintage or Varietal

  • A vintage wine is made from grapes that were all, or primarily all, grown in a single specified year. Depending upon the year of the wine, and the beliefs surrounding that year's grape quality, certain vintages can be very desirable, especially to wine enthusiasts or traders.
  • A varietal wine is made from a dominant grape such as Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine may not be composed entirely of that one grape, but depending upon the regional laws, it will be required to have between 70% and 100% of the dominant variety. If two or more varietals are mentioned in a single wine, these varietals combined must make up 100% of the bottle, and they must be listed by volume, with the most dominant grape first.

Categorical Acronyms

Quality, Designation, and Origin

  • GC: 'Grand Cru.'
  • 1 Cru or 1er Cru: Premier Cru.
  • GCC: 'Grand Cru Classé.' Seen on Bordeaux classed growth labels.
  • Various ways of describing Bordeaux first growths - 1er GCC (Premier Grand Cru Classé), 1er CC (Premier Cru Classé), 1 GCC (Premier Grand Cru Classé), PGC (Premier Grand Cru) and 1er GCC 'A' or 'B' (classifications for wines from the Bordeaux right bank region of Saint-Emilion).
  • AOC: Appellation d’origine Controlée.
  • VDP: Vin de Pays or a French country wine that comes from a broad designated area and is of lower quality than AOC wines.
  • VDT: Vin de Table and also Vino da Tavola. Basic table wine.
  • AVA: American Viticultural Area. This abbreviation may follow a region's name like Columbia Valley AVA.
  • DOCG: Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita. Highest classification for quality Italian wines.
  • DOC: Denominazione di Origine Controllata. Below DOCG and equivalent to the French AOC.
  • IGT: Indicazione Geografica Tipica. Denotes wine from a more specific region within Italy. Many of the finest wines in Italy may be labeled IGT to avoid DOC or DOCG regulations.
  • QMP: Qualitätswein mit Prädikat. Top German wines which literally means 'quality wine with special characteristics'. To qualify for this level, the grapes must meet minimum ripeness levels.
  • QBA: Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete. This is the second level German classification for quality wines within a designated region.
  • DO: Denominación de Origen. A Spanish term to denote quality wine from a designated area.
  • DOCa: Denominación de Origen Calificada. Highest quality of Spanish wines from Rioja, Priorato and Ribera del Duero.

Availability

  • IS: 'In Stock'
  • OS: 'Out of Stock'
  • LS: 'Limited Stock or Low Stock'
  • LI: 'Limited Inventory'
  • Limited Release: More of a marketing tool used to indicate a wine of higher quality because of lower production but has no legal significance at all.

Bottling Information

  • MC: 'Mise en Bouteille au Château'. Estate bottled or bottled by the wine producer within the estate. Used on quality wine labels from Bordeaux in particular.
  • EB: 'Estate Bottled'.
  • Mise en Bouteille au Domaine: Estate bottled. Mostly seen on Burgundy wine labels.
  • Mise en bouteille à la propriété: French term meaning bottled at the property.
  • Mis en Bouteille dans nos Caves or Mis en Bouteille dans nos Chais: Means bottled in our cellars.

Packaging and Storing

  • OWC: 'Original Wooden Case'. Normally indicates wines that come in wooden cases and bear some form of identification of the estate or the producer. Quite a common practice for premium wines.
  • OC: 'Original Case'.
  • OHK: Stands for 'Originalholzkiste', the German for OWC.
  • IB or I/B : A wine stored 'in bond'. Apart from the pricing as described above, 'in bond' also theoretically signifies professional storage to maintain a wine's provenance.

Bottle Conditions

  • Label Conditions:
    • STL: 'Stained Label'
    • WISL: 'Wine Stained Label'
    • WASL: 'Water Stained Label'
    • BSL: 'Bin Soiled Label'
    • GSL: 'Glue Stained Label'
    • TSL: 'Tissue Stained Label'
    • WL: 'Writing on Label'
    • WRL: 'Wrinkled Label'
    • TL: 'Torn Label'
    • TAL: 'Tattered Label'
    • LL: 'Loose Label'
    • FL: 'Faded Label'
    • SCL: 'Scuffed Label'
    • NOL: 'No Label'
  • Cork and Capsule Conditions:
    • CC: 'Corroded Capsule'
    • CRC: 'Cracked Capsule'
    • CUC: Cut Capsule
    • WC: 'Wrinkled Capsule'
    • WXC: 'Waxed Capsule'
    • NOC: 'NO Capsule'
    • NC: 'Nicked Capsule'
    • PC: 'Protruding Cork'
    • SPC: 'Slightly Protruding Cork'
    • SDC: 'Slightly Depressed Cork'
    • DC: 'Depressed Cork'
    • SOS: 'Signs of Seepage'

Miscellaneous Wine Terms

  • Proprietary Blend: A rather generic term used to denote a wine made using more than one grape variety. More specifically, the blend should consist of grape varieties native to the region.
  • Meritage A term mostly used in the US for a style of blended red wines made by noble grape varieties of Bordeaux, namely Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot.
  • Claret: A traditional English term for red wines from Bordeaux.
  • Veilles Vignes: French for "old vines."
  • Cuvée: Essentially a French term but increasingly seen on new world wine labels also. Denotes a wine of a specific blend or batch. In many cases this will also indicate a house specialty.
  • Lieu-dit: French term for a named vineyard. You might come across this term emphasising on the vineyard status. Here is an example "Lieu-dit Les Poyeux" Saumur Champigny AOC.
  • Organic: In very general terms, a wine made without using any chemicals but the use of the word 'Organic' on wine labels is strictly regulated by the wine laws of a particular country. For more insight, have a look at our organic and biodynamic wine page.
  • Kosher: Wines produced according to the Jewish dietary laws.
  • Bin: Originally a batch or collection of wine bottles but more specifically a brand name that separates a particular wine from others from the same winery. Often appears on wine labels with a number like Penfold's Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon. 
  • Blush: Widely used term in the US for a pale pink coloured wine.
  • Reserve: Often an aged wine. In more general terms, it can also suggest a higher quality.
  • Unfiltered: To preserve the primary fruit characters of a wine.

Related Guides

Wine

Wine Tasting

Wine Resources Guide

Analysing Wine from A to Z
 

External Links