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Reading the label
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The label on the bottle is a wine's ID, giving a host of information that is well worth knowing because it can help us make more informed purchases.
To fully understand all that is written, we need to learn the meaning of a few abbreviations because much of the key information actually lies in acronyms that we as consumers have often heard of, but still find something of a mystery.
So what is the difference between a DOC and a DOCG wine? Why do some bottles state the variety while others do not? |
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LAWS, REGULATIONS AND NORMS |
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Current laws governing wine are very complex, given that over the years the countless laws passed by different countries have been supplemented by a multitude of regulations drawn up by the European Union.
The aim of legislators has always been to safeguard the quality of wines on the market, while also giving consumers solid guarantees as regards the salubrious nature of wine sold.
By starting from the very label you can draw some useful conclusions before you even begin to open the bottle. In simple terms, EU regulations classify wine into two large categories:
"Table wine"
"Quality wine"
Within the "Table Wine" category the law makes provision for another subdivision, that of "Table wines with typical geographic indication", IGT for short, which places them a notch above table wines in the long ladder of quality. Quality wines, on the other hand, are also split into four subcategories:
- VQPRD (QWPSR, which stands for "Quality wines produced in a specified region")
- VLQPRD (QLWPSR, which stands for "Quality fortified wines produced in a specified region")
- VSQPRD (QSWPSR, which stands for "Quality sparkling wines produced in a specified region")
- VFQPRD ("Quality lightly sparkling wines produced in a specified region")
Over and above these categories, legislators also established national wording for labels, which within the Italian VQPRD category is either
- DOC, "Quality wines produced in a Specific Region", or
- DOCG, "Controlled and guaranteed denomination of origin"
DOCG status may be awarded only to wines of exceptional value, which have had DOC status for at least 5 years. To obtain DOC or IGT status a wine must simply meet all standards established by official wine body experts, without any obligation to excel. The regulations in the so-called "production specifications", which contain the official step-by-step descriptions of the harvesting, vinification and aging techniques for a given denomination, fall under the aegis of inspectors from the Ministry for Agricultural Policies.
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Here then is the ideal quality scale:
- Table wine
- Table wine with typical geographic indication (IGT)
-Quality wine from designated production area (QWPSR)
- Controlled denomination of origin wine (DOC)
- Controlled and guaranteed denomination of origin wine (DOCG)
- Further progress was made when QWPSR (DOC and DOCG) wines were granted permission to indicate the "sub-zone" on the label; this indicates a narrower area, having some "specific environmental characteristics or which are traditionally known, under a specific geographic or historic-geographic name, provided that they are explicitly and strictly ruled by the regulations of production and combined with the relative designation of origin".
An important consideration must however be made: these divisions were drawn up in the firm belief that there would be an unambiguous dividing line between premium quality wines (DOC and DOCG) and less prestigious wines (table wines).
Unfortunately, even amongst DOC wines themselves, especially in the past, there were considerable qualitative differences, and this lamentable situation led some major vine-growing and wine-producing companies to abandon their pursuit of DOC status, deliberately leaving their wines in the "table wine" category in order to disassociate themselves from DOC products that although technically in order, were of objectionable quality, enologically speaking. Thus today, paradoxically, the labels of some of Italy's most celebrated and internationally best-selling wines bear the legal wording "table wine". It is therefore a good idea not to judge all wines by their labels, classifying some as "second class".
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OBLIGATORY AND OPTIONAL INDICATIONS |
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Current laws make provision for two categories of information given on labels: obligatory information and optional additional information, the latter being at the discretion of the wine producer.
For example on the label of a DOCG bottle we find:
Obligatory information
- the name of the wine
- type of denomination of origin
- nominal volume of wine contained in bottle, generally expressed in centilitres (cl)
- bottler
- place of bottling
- alcohol content
Optional information
- color of wine
- company trademark
- name of the wine producer, if this adds prestige to the wine
- advice on how to best enjoy the wine (serving suggestions and temperature... )
- name of the principal variety used to make the wine
- vintage
In turn, though with fewer details, the same applies for DOC, IGT and table wines.
Bottles must have at least one label, but there is nothing to stop those producers who wish to provide additional information and suggestions from endearing themselves to consumers by adding a second label on the back of the bottle, which often also features the product's bar code.
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