Why What’s on the Label Is as Important as What’s in the Bottle
By Mark Neal
“Estate Grown” and “Estate Bottled” are the only true words when it comes to a wine’s “sense of place” particularly when it’s designated as a Single or Vineyard Designated wine. Both meanings is a wine made from grapes all grown in a single vineyard location with the name of the vineyard on the bottle’s label. In the US the regulations allow no less than 95% coming from the vineyards name. “Estate” can only happen when the vineyard in owned or leased by the Winery. When the label says anything else — or the back label tells a different story — that “sense of place” becomes plural. This can mean many vineyards, regions, or even countries, even to the point the winemaker has no control, seen the vineyard, or called the harvest and winemaking decisions.
In many conversations in this business, it seems everyone loosely now started using “sense of place” the ongoing has been “organic practices but not certified” or even organic certified but the winery does add to the label Ingredient: Organic Grapes. Some words on a bottle can be more marketing than meaning — even greenwashing — and some wineries sadly get away with it.
The more transparent we are, the better equipped consumers are to make informed choices. This goes for everything — plant and protean food that you eat, textiles you wear or sleep in, supplements, medicine — and yes, wine.
When it comes to wine, the difference between terms like Estate Bottled, Produced and Bottled By, Vinted and Bottled By, or Cellared and Bottled By is often overlooked by consumers. But if you care about wine quality and integrity — and the true sense of place — the meaning of these words matters.
As I often say in my seminars and masterclasses: it’s amazing how few people know what these terms actually mean. So, here we go.
Estate Bottled
Estate Bottled on the label is the highest quality that can be found, is made from 100% grapes grown on land owned or controlled by the winery, all within the same designated viticultural area. The winery must crush, ferment, age, and bottle 100% of the wine on its own premises, in a continuous process. This is the truly fact of “sense of place” ensures complete control from vineyard to bottle. Wine cannot be moved offsite at anytime until after bottling.
At Neal Vineyards, our two Howell Mountain Estate wines fit this definition exactly. In addition, the wine is made Organic Certified and Regenerative Organic Certified® since 2022 and Biodynamic®.
Estate Grown and Bottled by
Estate Grown means the grapes come from vineyards owned or controlled by the winery — but not necessarily that the wine was made and bottled on-site. The winery still has direct influence over grape growing and production, but the winemaking process may occur elsewhere. For example, both of our Rutherford Dust Vineyards in the Rutherford AVA are two of our Estate Vineyards, we do take the fruit at harvest to our winery in Howell Mountain. It’s not moved once crushed until after bottling. We are seeing a positive consumer awareness and movement in this category.
Produced and Bottled by
When you see Produced and Bottled By, and long as it’s not a labeled “Made in American”, it means the listed winery on the back of the label needed to crush, fermented and bottled at least 75% of the particular wine produced. It doesn’t mean that the winery owns any vineyards and can just purchase grapes. The other 25% can be juice or wine made by another winery and purchased by said winery. So, as sources of grapes or juice/wine for this bottling can change from year to year. This means continuity and character can easily vary. The winemaking on the minimum of 75% with full control of winemaking and the remaining would be full talent of the winemaker for sourcing wine, trucking to wineries site and blending that particular bottle for that year.
“The closer and clearer we are about transparency, the better choices consumers can make — in wine and in everything else.”
Vinted By
This one often surprises people. Vinted by means the winery purchased ‘shiners” wine already made by another winery and bottled. The winery that purchased the shiners just added their label to the wine during bottling.
Cellared by
The wine has been purchased in bulk from one or more other producers, even from overseas. The company likely was not involved in vineyard management, harvest decisions, fermentation and wine making. The purchaser of this wine can age, blend and then make the decision when to bottle with their label.
Bulk wine can come to market for many reasons — inventory cuts, surplus, or quality issues. That doesn’t necessarily mean its poor quality, but there’s no transparency or traceability from vineyard(s) to bottle. In most cases the winery doesn’t even know where the vineyard location or how the fruit was taken care of during the time on the vine or during crush and fermentation styles or any other winemaking procedure.
American and Varietal Labeling
If a wine is labeled American, at least 75% of its grapes must come from within the United States, and the wine must be finished in the United States.
If it’s labeled American and its Cabernet Sauvignon, that means the wine is at least 75% Cabernet Sauvignon grown somewhere in the U.S. — but not necessarily in California or Napa Valley. This is more common with wineries outside of California. Stating America, this can include purchases of grapes or juice and have them hauled from California. These wineries can also use up to 25% import juice not just including from the US.
And now the other rules: 95%, 85%, 75% — Nothing but Rules!
Single Vineyard Designate: To list a single vineyard on the label, 95% of the grapes must come from that one vineyard — a true expression of place. These back labels are rare to find in the US.
Our Rutherford Dust Vineyards and both Howell Mountain Estate are both 100%.
Vintage Year: For wines with an AVA (American Viticultural Area) designation, 95% of the grapes must come from the stated vintage. For wines labeled only by state or country, the rule drops to 85%. Neal Family doesn’t move wine from one year to another, truly wants the expression of the vintage to speak in every sip.
AVA Wines: If the label says Napa Valley, at least 85% of the grapes must come from within that AVA. If the front label says Napa County, then its 80%. Seriously. IF you see California then it needs to be only 75% from California and imported wine can be the other 25%.
All Neal Family wines are 100% from our Estate vineyards either from Rutherford AVA or Howell Mountain AVA.
Varietal Labeling: When a bottle says Cabernet Sauvignon, at least 75% of the grapes must be Cabernet Sauvignon. At Neal, our wines are 100% by the varietal listed on the front label for example Cabernet Sauvignon— and if we ever blend in another variety, we’ll tell you right on the label.
In the end, what’s on the label tells you just as much as what’s in the bottle — if you know how to read it. Transparency, honesty, and a true sense of place matter. On top of this, since the first generation, Neal Family Vineyards has been committed to biodiversity across all our properties. Our ethos centers on the health of our soils, aquifers, and the runoff that feeds our creeks, streams, and domestic lakes. This also implies our farming methods keep our farm workers healthy by not working in harmful ag chemicals. Our true hands-on family farming and winemaking brings you some of the healthiest wines in the Napa Valley market since 2007. Our layers of integrity began with a commitment to Organic, Biodynamic®, and Regenerative Organic certifications. We don’t simply claim these farming methods; we verify them. Annual third-party inspections ensure that we meet the highest standards and allow us to feature these certifications on our wine labels.