The wine label

: April 13 2022

System of italian wine classifications and wine denomination

The whole complex system of wine classifications and their denomination can be found in the field of labeling.

In fact, the label plays a fundamental role, both because it is able to guide the consumer's choices, and because it transmits a series of very important information about wine and its characteristics. Therefore the label must contain clear, complete and verifiable information. The European Community, aware of this need, has taken steps to issue precise rules on the subject to standardize this aspect at European level. In each label we therefore find: the name of the wine (Barolo, Chianti, Frascati etc.), the category to which it belongs (Table wine, Doc wine etc.), the name and company name of the wine bottler and its headquarters. The alcoholic strength of a wine is expressed as a percentage of volume; in the case of sweet wines, then, which have a residual sugar, the actual alcohol content is indicated by adding a "+" sign followed by the potential alcohol content that the unfermented sugars could bring (10 + 2% vol.) and the quantity of the wine, i.e. the nominal volume of the bottle, expressed in liters, centiliters or milliliters. These are the elements that compulsorily appear on the labels of each type of wine. Extra indications can be reported on the label to better illustrate the merits and quality of the wine. This is the case, for example, of recommendations regarding food pairing ("particularly suitable for fish dishes", "ideal with roasts and game" etc.), the ideal temperature for the wine consumption, the methods of serving the wine ("serving with caution " or “uncork a few hours before consumption ", typical indications of aged red wines).