Wine Labels And Keeping Wines

A crucial aspect of wine drinking is wine labels. The label on the bottle tells us about the wine and its origin. Just as you might judge a person by his appearance, the appearance of a label on a wine bottle may suggest: ‘Drink me! I taste like this.’ The label, in addition to conveying an impression, gives us certain facts as well. Different label standards govern what must be printed on the label, such as alcohol content, producer, country of origin, and so on.

Quite unequivocally, we are influenced by appearances. For instance, a colourful label leads us to expect a less sophisticated wine, while the classic design of a claret label implies a wine with stature. Some wine producers put in a great deal of research and effort to get that captivating appearance for their bottles, while others are happy with what their local printer can offer them.

The ultimate in wine label sophistication is at Château Mouton Rothschild, an estate located in the village of Pauillac in the Médoc, 50 km north-west of the city of Bordeaux, France. At Château Mouton Rothschild, a famous contemporary artist is commissioned each year to design the wine label. Baron Philippe de Rothschild, who came up with this idea, believed that an attractive label on a wine bottle enhances the anticipatory pleasure.

After bottling the wine and putting wine labels, the wine is ready for the supermarket, where it is showcased on a wine merchant’s shelf until it is purchased. Statistics show that a very high proportion of wine is drunk at most within a week of purchase. So, most wines are destined for relatively early consumption.

It is true that there is little gain in keeping wines like Bardolino, Orvieto or Muscadet, but with more sophisticated wines that have already been aged in oak barrels, much can be gained from extra bottle ageing. Keeping wines in bottles softens the tannins and aids in the evaporation of overtly oaky flavours from fermentation in barrels. An excellent example of this is Chablis, which becomes more palatable and attains a rich flavour if kept in bottle for around four years.