10/19/07 The Back Label

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran. Although it isn't mandatory that a winery have a back label on their wine bottle most of them will. It's how they use it that I find interesting. It is a huge opportunity for the winery to tell us more about their wine. Today we will talk about the back label on a bottle of wine. Always read the back label if there is one, since it may contain a description of the wine and give you an idea of the style that it was made in or anything that is unique about it's origin. If the label is big enough, or the print is small enough, there may even be some recommendations as to the food that goes best with the wine. The back label may also contain the information required by law, such as the alcohol content by volume. I have also seen back labels with maps showing the region the wines are from. In the case of wines from other regions of the world; very often importers will customize back labels for the specific market the wine is being sold to. A front label that is in Italian but exported to the United States may have information on the back in English for the United States market. I happen to think the back label is a wineries opportunity to help us understand the unique character origin blend or even just a good story about its name. We all keep hoping the winery will put some effort into helping us to understand and appreciate their wine. One such winery is Thurston Wolfe from Washington state not only are the wines great but so is the back label. Keep up the good work. And Thanks for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.