How to Read an Italian Wine Label

If you've ever looked at an Italian wine label and thought, "Huh?" you're not alone. Unless you speak Italian, there's really no way to know what you're looking at. Sometimes the type of grape, the vineyard, or the region or subregion appears; sometimes, none of these do. These steps may help you understand Italian wine labels, but remember, fluent Italian is the only way to be sure.

Instructions

1. Learn some key Italian words for "farm." If you can recognize these words on the label, at least you'll know that the preceding or following word is probably the proper name of the farm or vineyard. Common words for farm are "cascina," "fattoria," and "tenuta." "Vigneto" is the word for vineyard, "produttore" is producer, "azienda" is company and "cantina" is winery.

2. Get to know common varieties of Italian grapes. There are more than 2,000 indigenous grapes in Italy, so memorizing them all is a problem. But a few of the more common ones are barbera, catarratto, malvasia, montepulciano, negro amaro, primitivo, sangiovese (a.k.a. brunello, prugnolo gentile or morellino) and trebbiano.

3. Know the wine regions of Italy. There are 37 wine regions, and these have their own subregions. The more important ones are Tuscany, Piedmont, The Tre Venezie (Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Trentino-Alto Adige and the Veneto), Apulia, Abruzzi, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Liguria, Lombardy, Sardinia and Sicily.

4. Memorize these additional Italian words: "riserva" means reserve and indicates that the wine was aged longer than usual; "superiore" means it was made under high standards of production; "classico" usually indicates a well-respected wine; "vecchio" means old; "secco" is dry; "dolce" is sweet; "vendemmia" and "annata" mean vintage; "imbottigliato" means bottled and "invecchiato" means aged.

5. Be familiar with the Italian government's levels of production regulation. "Indicazione Geografica Tipica" (IGT) wines have the fewest regulations of production; "Denominazione d'Origine Controllata" (DOC) is in the middle and "Denominazione d'Origine Controllate e Garantita" (DOCG) is the most highly regulated.

Tips & Warnings

• The wine's appellation typically appears just above the quality level on the label.

• Remember that type of grape, region, subregion and winemaker aren't necessarily listed on the label. Some Italian wines have developed nicknames over the years, and that name is the only name on the label--and it has nothing to do with the grapes or vineyard.