Wine Styles, Labeling and Terminology
Wine Styles
Classify by structure
Style questions ask you to place a wine on axes: colour, sweetness, acidity, tannin, alcohol, body, bubbles, and fortification. Perceived sweetness is not the same as residual sugar; high alcohol and glycerol can read as sweetness, while high acidity can mask sugar.
Sweetness scales
For still wine in the EU, dry is generally up to 4 g/L, medium dry 4–12 g/L, medium sweet 12–45 g/L, and sweet above 45 g/L. Sparkling dosage levels run: Brut Nature (under 3 g/L), Extra Brut (0–6), Brut (under 12), Extra Dry (12–17), Sec (17–32), Demi-Sec (32–50), and Doux (above 50).
Fortified and aromatized styles
Port ranges from reductive ruby styles to oxidative tawny styles, plus Vintage and LBV. Sherry runs from dry, biologically aged Fino and Manzanilla to oxidative Amontillado and Oloroso, with sweet Pedro Ximénez and cream styles. Madeira, Marsala, and vermouth complete the family; vermouth is aromatized and fortified.
Dessert styles
Sauternes, Tokaji, Eiswein, and PX are sweet but for different reasons: botrytis, freezing, or drying. Late harvest alone does not guarantee botrytis.
Traps
Extra Dry is sweeter than Brut, and Sec is sweeter than Extra Dry. Tawny is oxidative, ruby reductive. Fino is dry; cream Sherry is sweet. “Fruity” does not mean sweet. Vintage Port is bottle-aged, LBV is typically filtered and ready earlier.
Worked example
A sparkling wine labelled with 25 g/L dosage falls in the Sec band (17–32 g/L). If a dessert is sweeter than the wine, the wine will taste thin, so match sweetness levels.
Rule of thumb
Wine should be at least as sweet as the food it accompanies.
Labeling and Terminology
Mandatory and optional information
Every label must carry basics such as alcohol by volume, volume, producer or bottler, origin, and allergen declarations, including sulfites above the legal threshold. Optional claims include grape variety, vintage, vineyard, and method.
Appellation and quality terms
Know the EU framework: PDO and PGI, with national terms such as AOC/AOP, DOCG/DOC, and IGP. The United States uses AVAs. Germany's Prädikat ladder (Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese, Eiswein) is based on must weight at harvest, not finished sweetness. Terms such as Reserve, Old Vines, and Reserve Speciale are often unregulated outside specific appellations.
Percentages that examiners test
In the United States, a varietal label generally requires 75% of the named grape, an AVA requires 85%, and a single vineyard requires 95%. In the EU, varietal and vintage claims generally require 85%. If two varieties appear, they must be listed in descending order and together account for nearly all of the blend.
Method and place terms
Champagne is a protected place name; elsewhere the same method is “traditional method” or “método tradicional.” Cava is Spanish sparkling wine. “Mis en bouteille au château” indicates estate bottling. “Brut” describes dryness, not quality.
Traps
Do not confuse 75% and 85%. “Reserve” does not guarantee ageing. A county name is not an AVA. Allergen labels can mention milk or egg fining agents. “Estate bottled” has specific ownership and production conditions.
Worked example
A US label reading “Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, To Kalon Vineyard” needs 75% Cabernet, 85% Napa fruit, and 95% from that vineyard. Check each claim separately.