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We have a wide range of people that we deal with from relative novices to serious, knowledgeable collectors. For that reason we write a variety of things as different levels to inform. Sometimes people just need to know how to read a label. So here you go… Most Americans start with domestic wines where the general practice is varietal labeling labeling varietally (Chardonnay, Cabernet, Malbec, etc.). But European labels have different orientations, often focusing more on place than varietal (since varietals are usually regulated within an appellation). Some people get confused by that. We’re here to help demystify. We’ll start this ongoing project with the most intimidating labels on shelves, those of German wines. We live in a world that seems to be more and more concerned with information. Yet German importers seem to want to make these labels simpler for consumers to remember by offering less information. What’s a vintner to do? Traditional German bottlings have the most informative and detailed labels of all wines out there. It’s intimidating, sure, because the names are long and, well, in German. But, as you would expect from Germans, not even a syllable is wasted in these long names and descriptions. Here is a quick guideline using this bottling from elite German producer, Joh. Jos. Prum .
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