Many of us have been there before: at the wine aisle at your favorite grocer or retailer, turning countless bottles around to inspect the label, unsure of what to even look for.
Each bottle proclaims to have been vinted, produced, bottled or cellared by the winery on the front of the label. But what do those terms mean, exactly?
Grown, produced and bottled by. This means the winery grew the grapes on vineyards it either owns or leases with control of the farming. This designation is rare to see on most store shelves.
Produced and bottled by. If you see this claim on the label, at least 75 percent of the grapes used were fermented in the winery’s facility. In many cases, the remaining 25 percent were purchased from established growers and made in-house.
Vinted or Cellared by. These are murkier designations. They indicate finished or nearly finished wines purchased in bulk and then given some cellar treatment before bottling.
