Wine Labels

[Rebel Rose]

Are labels getting more informative? Or are there more wines with pure bullshit on the front and back label? Do you think American producers are "dumbing down" their labels? When you look at a label, what do you want to know?

(And don't cop out by saying oh, if you know this [regional] producer, you know all about their wines, yada yada. Imagine you're opening a new experience from a producer new to you . . .)

From James Laube's column Labels Should Tell Us More in the October 15 Wine Spectator:

For starters, I think many consumers would be thrilled to see real, accurate figures on wine labels as they relate to things such as alcohol level, residual sugar and even pH.

Are ordinary Americans ready for all that data? Do we care?

Wine Industry Suffers 'Curse of Orson Welles'

A national survey of U.S. wine consumers released today shows that most people who enjoy wine don't know what the vintage date on a wine label means, and many cling to the belief that older is always better when it comes to wine.

[David94928]

Are labels getting more informative?  Or are there more wines with pure bullshit on the front and back label?  Do you think American producers are "dumbing down" their labels? When you look at a label, what do you want to know?

(And don't cop out by saying oh, if you know this [regional] producer, you know all about their wines, yada yada.  Imagine you're opening a new experience from a producer new to you . . .)

From James Laube's column Labels Should Tell Us More in the October 15 Wine Spectator:

For starters, I think many consumers would be thrilled to see real, accurate figures on wine labels as they relate to things such as alcohol level, residual sugar and even pH.

Are ordinary Americans ready for all that data? Do we care?

Wine Industry Suffers 'Curse of Orson Welles'

A national survey of U.S. wine consumers released today shows that most people who enjoy wine don't know what the vintage date on a wine label means, and many cling to the belief that older is always better when it comes to wine.

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My take on labels is that the more corporate wineries are being no more informative than they have been in the past. If by "dumbing down" you mean saying less about the wine and trying to spin a sense of a fun lifestyle instead, then yes they are. But in their defense they are attempting to appeal to an audience who couldn't (for the most part) give a rats #@* about the hardcore particulars of a wine. They just want it to taste good to them.

Even many knowledgeable wine consumers won't know what a pH of a wine is and what it means as far as the taste of the wine goes. Only real wine geeks and winemakers have a real clue. I AM a wine geek and former winemaker so I DO want to know the facts - as many as I can glean from whatever source.

I work in a tasting room of an Alexander Valley winery so I am constantly educating visitors about the wines I pour for them. But that said, there are many people I pour for who just want to taste the wine and aren't that interested in the particulars.

We have a selection of limited production wines from the Sonoma side of Mt. Veeder that -as would be expected - have a real sense of terroir in their intense flavors. But unless the person has had other wines from Mt. Veeder or understands what differences there is in a mountain vineyard and the wines from it, I have to educate them in those differences with my photos, samples of the volcanic soils, and quick lecture on why mountain vineyards are different. That can't be fit onto a wine label.

So I say that there is no way to create one wine label for every wine drinker. The best you can probably do is know your target audience and "try" to create a label that will best appeal to their interest in wine.

David

Edited September 15, 2005 by David94928 (log)