A French wine label contains a lot of information, but you can crack the code and understand French wine once you know how to read the label. Here are some words you may find and what they mean:
| Appellation . . . Contrôlée (AOC): The word(s) appearing between these two words on the label indicate the official place-name of the wine, the location where the grapes grew. | grand cru: A region’s highest quality vineyard or vineyard area |
| blanc de blancs (“white from whites”): A white wine made from white grapes only. In particular, a Champagne made exclusively with Chardonnay grapes. | grand vin: A winery’s best wine |
| blanc: White | millésime: Vintage (year of the harvest) |
| brut: A dry sparkling wine | mis en bouteille au château: Estate-bottled |
| château: A wine estate | premier cru: A top vineyard area or wine estate, but less prestigious than a grand cru |
| crémant: An AOC sparkling French wine from some region other than Champagne | réserve: Suggests a better-quality wine, but it’s an unregulated term that anyone can use for any wine |
| cru: A vineyard, a village, or sometimes a wine estate | rouge: Red |
| cuvée: A blend of wines, or a particular batch of a wine | sec: Dry |
| domaine: Wine estate, usually a smaller property than a château | vieilles vignes: Old vines, suggests better quality, but it’s an unregulated term |
| extra dry: A sparkling wine that’s slightly sweeter than brut | Vins Délimités de Qualité Supérieure (VDQS): A place-name wine that’s less prestigious than an Appellation . . . Contrôlée wine |
| grand cru classé: A wine estate that has officially been classified as a top property | Vin de Pays: A French country wine; the words following this phrase on the label indicate the zone where the grapes grew. |