American Wines And How to Pick Them

American Wines
In the United States a vintage wine is made of a minimum of 85% of grapes primarily grown and harvested in the same year. This practice provides consistency in specific vintages. This is mainly relative to the region, weather, and the variety of grape.

With American wines the government mandates that certain information is on the front label. The brand name of the wine, varietal designation, the type (table, Desert, or sparkling), alcohol content by volume, name and address of the bottler, the size of the container, the term “Contains sulfites” (there are few exceptions), and the government alcohol warning.

American wines are predominately identified by variety. American wines have AVA designations that identify the area where the grapes are grown. There are about 140 AVA’s currently. Some examples of an AVA would be Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley, and Ohio River Valley. With American wines the variety is the most constant indicator of the contents. It designates the type of grapes used to produce the wine. Regulations require that a wine must contain a minimum of 85% of the varietal listed on the label for AVA wines. For example wine makers can use up to 15% of Merlot to soften a robust Cabernet Sauvignon. On the label it will not tell you what other grapes are in your cabernet.