Where a wine is produced makes a difference
At lunch recently, one of my friends ordered a Sancerre from France. She loved it. As we talked about wine, she mentioned that she usually orders Sauvignon Blanc when she’s choosing a white.
That tracks, because Sancerre is made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes.
That simple moment made me realize something: many casual wine drinkers don’t realize which grapes are in their glass, largely because of how different countries name and label their wines.
In most European wine-producing countries, wines are named for where they’re grown, not for the grapes used to make them. From there, you’re expected to know which grapes are traditionally grown in that region.
Take Burgundy, for example. All wines produced in the Burgundy region of France are called “Burgundy,” whether they’re red or white. The primary grapes grown there are Pinot Noir (for reds) and Chardonnay (for whites), with smaller amounts of Gamay (red) and Aligoté (white). French wine laws strictly regulate which grapes can be planted in each region, so when you see “Burgundy” on a wine list (red or white) you can be confident it was made in Burgundy using one of those grapes.
Sancerre works the same way. It’s an appellation within France’s Loire Valley. The dominant grape there is Sauvignon Blanc, with a small amount of Pinot Noir. Wines labeled Sancerre will be made from one of those two grapes: the whites from Sauvignon Blanc, and the reds and rosés from Pinot Noir. The grape isn’t on the label, the place is.
This is very different from how wines are labeled in the United States. Here, wines are typically named for the grape variety (Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir), or simply called a “blend” if more than one grape is used.
Now I know what you’re thinking: Why can’t they just call a spade a spade?
There are good reasons why the Old World system makes sense, arguably even more sense than ours. I’ll save the full explanation for another day, but here’s one key nugget: where a grape is grown matters. A lot. The soil, climate, and environment, collectively known as terroir, have a significant impact on how a wine tastes.
In the U.S., there are few restrictions on how wines are named. That means a bottle labeled “Cabernet Sauvignon” could come from Napa Valley, or from Arizona, Texas, or Virginia. Each of those wines may taste dramatically different, but you won’t know how good (or bad) it is until you open the bottle.
In the Old World, the name tells a much bigger story, if you know how to read it.
So the next time you’re staring at a wine list and see Sancerre, Burgundy, or Chablis, don’t panic. Those names aren’t meant to confuse you, they’re clues. Learn a few key regions and the grapes they grow, and suddenly the label becomes a shortcut, not a mystery. In wine, the name isn’t just a name. It’s a promise of place, style, and what’s waiting in your glass.