brand name
It can identify a winegrower, a trader, a winemaker, a created brand. Also, you may find a patronage brand which role is to bring a quality guarantee. For instance: Bernard Magrez, owner of 4 grands crus classés of Bordeaux.
varietal
Type of vine to create the wine. There are plenty. As a reference, we can use an Australia study from Kym Anderson and Nanda R. Aryal (1) which covers 99% of the world wide surface of wine-making. Verdict= 1271 varietals in 2010. The TOP 10 in 2010 represents 40% of world wide vineyard.
1 : Database of Regional National Global Winegrape Bearing Areas by Variety 2000 and 2010 (University of Adelaide’s Wine Economics Research Centre) et disponible gratuitement en chargement sur University of Adelaide Press : www.adelaide.edu.au/wine-econ/databases
Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC)
The production, the transformation and the elaboration are done in a certain geographic area, according to a known know-how and specifications.
The designations can be: regional, sub-regional, area, village. In addition, they can be 1er cru or Grand Cru, meaning realized in a area classified 1er cru or Grand cru.
The designation AOC Grand Cru, the highest, exists in 6 regions: Alsace, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Loire (1), Languedoc Roussillon (1).
WARNING ! Each region has its own organisation of AOC.
Example for Burgundy and Bordeaux.
Indication Géographique Protégée (IGP)
This designation was created in 1992 by the European Community to identify and protect food whose geographic origin provides a reputation, a quality or other identity specifications. The IGP was extended to wines in 2009 (but spirits).
Ex: IGP Pays d’Oc, IGP Franche-Comté
country of origin
Country of origin of the grapes
vintage
Year of harvest of the grapes
% alc./L or Alc. % by vol.
It indicates the percentage of alcohol in one liter, thus the « strength » of the wine.