Greg Norman Estates 2003 Shiraz
Starting out this is a pretty common and straightforward wine label from Australia. The information is clearly given and easy to figure out, even for the wine novice.

Greg Norman Estates—This is probably the first thing you'll notice and it designates the producer of the wine. It might not tell you a lot to begin with if you're unfamiliar with wine producers, but Greg Norman Estates have vineyards in the United States and Australia.

Shiraz—The label Shiraz tells you what kind of grape is used to make this wine. Regulations stipulate that at least 75 percent of the grapes in a wine labeled Shiraz (or any other type of wine) must be that type of grape; otherwise it would be considered a blend.

2003—Labeling the bottle with a year means that a minimum of 95 percent of the grapes that went into the wine must have been grown in that year.

Limestone Coast—Once again this might not mean much if you are unfamiliar with the producer, but having Limestone Coast on the bottle designates that this wine is from one of Greg Norman's Australian vineyards.

Alcohol content & Volume—These are two things that must be on every bottle of wine. This wine has an alcohol content of 14.5 percent and is a standard size bottle at 750 milliliters.

Cavit Collection 2004 Pinot Noir
This is a bit of an unusual wine label because although the wine is from Italy the label follows the labeling traditions of the United States.

Cavit Collection—Cavit Collection indicates the producer of the wine, which is actually a shortened version of Cantina Viticoltori Trento.

Pinot Noir—Unlike most wines from Europe this bottle is designated by the grape varietal instead of by the growing region. It is a label geared toward consumers accustomed to American and Australian wine labels.

Delle Venezie—This indicates the growing region of the wine, a piece of information that connects it more to a European wine label. The wine was grown in a region of northern Italy.

Imported from Italy—Imported wines must have their country of origin somewhere on the front or back label. Look for key phrases such as "imported from" or "product of" to learn where each wine comes from.

2004—Like new world wines, European wines are generally labeled with a vintage designating in which year the grapes were grown.

Alcohol content & volume—This is a standard 750-milliliter bottle with an alcohol content of 12 percent.

Beaulieu Vineyards 2003 Chardonnay
This wine label gives a little bit more information than the one from Greg Norman Estates, but it is still easy to read and understand.

Beaulieu Vineyard & Coastal Estates—The first thing you are made to notice is the producer and their "brand of wine." Beaulieu Vineyard makes five different lines of wine, Coastal Estates being one of them. What this tells you is that the grapes for this wine were grown along the coast in northern California.

Chardonnay—Because this is labeled by the type of grape that it is made with you can immediately tell that it is a new world wine, one from the Americas, Australia or New Zealand. Wines from Europe are generally labeled with the growing region instead.

2003—The majority of the grapes used in producing this bottle were grown in 2003, but not all wines are labeled with a year. Those without a year are considered to be non-vintage, meaning that grapes from different years went into the wine.

Private Cellars—This indicates that Beaulieu Vineyards produce and bottle their wine without any assistance from other vineyards. Some wine producers will grow the grapes and make the wine but not bottle the wine themselves, instead sending it to another vineyard.

California—Labeling the bottle with the growing region indicates that 95 to 100 percent of the grapes used in making the wine are from that region. In this case it is 100 percent because all the Beaulieu Vineyards are located in California.

Alcohol Content & Volume—This wine has 13.5 percent alcohol by volume. The volume is not listed on the label in this case, which means that it is either on the back label or is imprinted in the bottle itself.

Herederos del Marques de Riscal 2000 Rioja
This can be a very intimidating wine label, mainly because there's so much information and because it appears to have two front labels. In this case the top label is the one that will give you all the information.

Herederos del Marques de Riscal—This is the Spanish producer of the wine, and as always is serving as a kind of brand name for the bottle.

Rioja—Unlike the other labels, this wine is designated by the growing region instead of by the type of grape. This makes it a much more traditional European wine label.

DOCa—The DenominaciÓn de Origen Calificada label indicates this Rioja wine has met Spanish regulations designating geographic origin, grape varieties, vine-growing and wine-making methods. Only wines grown in two regions, Rioja and Priorat, meet the DOCa regulation, which is higher than the standard Spanish DO regulation.

Reserva—While this term has no universal definition across different vineyards, it usually indicates that it is one of the producer's best wines.

2000—The bottle is labeled with the year letting you know that the majority of the grapes in this bottle were grown and harvested in 2000.

Product of Spain—This indicates the wine's country of origin since it will be sold outside of Spain.

Red Rioja Wine—Many wines that are labeled by region instead of by grape varietal are then labeled with the type of wine—red, white, sparkling, etc.

Alcohol Content & volume—This wine has 13 percent alcohol by volume and is a standard 750-milliliter bottle.

Secondary Label—This wine is unique because of the secondary label on the front of the bottle. What this label tells you is that the vineyard that produces this wine does so using the Bordeaux method and is regulated by those standards. The bottom label also provides the information on who imports the wine.