如何解读酒标上的神秘语言？从Chianti、Châteauneuf-du-Pape、Taurasi或Alentejo开始，探索加利福尼亚的罗纳河风格葡萄酒。虽然每个标签都提供了关于内容的信息，但有时候这些信息看起来像密码。不要担心，一些基本规则可以帮助你理解那些混乱且自豪的词汇。

首先，要区分是旧世界（欧洲、地中海和西亚部分地区）还是新世界（其他产区）。尽管所有标签都会包含基本事实——区域、生产商、酒精度数（abv）和年份（非年份除外），但仍然存在显著差异。

以下是两种类别中可能发现差异的内容：

旧世界酒标

大多数旧世界葡萄酒仅在正面标上产区和陈酿分类，而不是葡萄品种。例如，红色Riojas葡萄酒由桑娇维塞酿制，可能含有普兰尼洛、格拉西亚诺，加尔纳恰或马苏埃洛。但问题在于，你很难在前面的标上找到任何一种葡萄。如果你遇到基安蒂(由桑娇维塞酿制)、勃艮第(黑比诺为红色霞多丽为白色)、波尔多等，这些情况也是如此。这主要原因是这些葡萄酒更多的是区域风格，而不是特定的品种。同一品种的葡萄根据气候、土壤和环境表现出不同的特征，因此，即使看似生产商试图通过不命名他们瓶子上的品种来迷惑你，但实际上恰恰相反。

近年来，一些老牌生产商开始在背面列出具体品种，也偶尔会在正面列出。此外，对于特定地区允许使用哪些品种，这就是暗示作用发挥的地方。

另一方面，旧世界还提供指导，如“Reserva”、“Riserva”等术语根据它们来自的地理位置具有真实含义。不过，每个地区对年龄分类规定几乎相同但又大相径庭。例如，“Reserva”的里奥哈红酒至少陈酿36个月，其中包括12个月橡木桶陈酿。而“Riserva”的基安蒂则至少24个月橡木桶陈酿，再加3个月瓶内陈酵；而布鲁内洛迪蒙塔尔奇诺则需要五年的总时间，其中两年橡木桶，六个月瓶内。这与非“Riserva”的布鲁内洛标准不同，即两年橡木桶四个月瓶内。

最令人困惑的是德语表述，它们包含大量技术信息及德语术语，如“Trockenbeerenauslese”， “Bernkasteler Badstube”，以及“Grosses Gewächs”。初看之下，您可能会觉得您需要成为Mensa会员才能理解这些描述。

新世界wine label

对于来自南美洲、大洋洲以及大多数其他非欧洲国家的wine，几乎总是在label上提及到grape varieties。在最初阶段，大部分new world wine labels都不太关注grapes' origin，因为这通常都是未知的小地方儿。但他们强调grapes将其与某些欧洲地域联系起来，比如梅洛与波尔多，或霞多丽与勃艮第。

然而，这样的做法也因为portraying the style of wine more on the expression of grapes rather than regions to change over time. Now, many non-European regions have some of the best vineyards in the world.

New world wine labels tend to be simpler. They usually provide information about grape, region, sub-region and even a description of flavors and aromas on the back. However, this rule is not without exception. Take The Prisoner for example - you can find its name on the front label while the back label simply states that it's a "red wine from Napa Valley". These wines, like some old-world counterparts, rely on their reputation names to convey what connoisseurs need to know.

Some new world wines may also be classified as Rhone-style blends or Super Tuscan-style wines. Similarly, you must understand which grapes are historically used in European regions to understand what's in your bottle. Typically California Rhone-style red wines blend Syrah with Grenache and Mourvedre allowed by France's Rhone Valley appellation.

Remember that for new-world labels terms like "reserve", "special" and "select" carry no legal requirements regarding aging or vineyard location - they're essentially marketing terms intended to suggest higher quality but offer no guarantee whatever they're slapped onto any label.

The only truly legally significant term is 'Meritage', which combines 'merit' and 'heritage'. In 1980s after Bordeaux producers formed an alliance called Meritage Alliance (now known as Meritage Alliance) aiming at creating Bordeaux style blends for quality purposes among member wineries producing them using two or more red Bordeaux grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon; Merlot; Malbec; Petit Verdot; Carmenère; St Macaire; Verdellot & Gros Verdot (the latter three being rare). They cannot exceed 90% single variety.

For white Meritage blend must include at least three white Bordeaux grape varieties: Semillon & Muscadelle & Savagnin Blanc., From reading these labels we can learn a lot – if you know where look! Remember these tips will guide you towards understanding what’s behind those seemingly cryptic words!