Italy

Although it is known that Ancient Romans classified wines and regions throughout its empire, Italy's current wine laws came into being in 1963, but only in the last two decades has government control been applied nationwide to wine of "particular reputation and worth."

Italian wines fall into three categories:

Vino da Tavola: A category that effectively covers all wines which do not qualify as D.O.C. (denominazione di origine controllata.) The idiosyncratic attitudes of Italian winemakers and bureaucrats have made this a catch-all category, including a large number of the finest wines made in Italy because their makers use grapes (cabernet sauvignon, for example) or vinification/maturation methods that are not permitted by DOC regulations.

DOC: This law defines not only the area of origin, but also specifies the grape varieties to be used and sometimes the vinification methods.

DOCG: In an attempt to improve matters, a higher classification added the "G" (guarantita, or guaranteed) to the DOC imprimatur, establishing a more exact level of quality tests.

Germany

As one sommelier jokingly said: "If you learn to decode German labels, the rest of the world's are easy." Considered the most difficult labels to read in the wine world, Germany's classification system, introduced in 1971, is definitely a challenge. In Germany, the base of its production pyramid is not table wine, as it is in France and Italy, but quality wine, albeit of the lowest Qualitîtwein category, QbA. Typically, in a normal year, the bulk of German wine will be classified as QbA, and in a very good year, a percentage of QbA wine will be further classified as QmP (Qualitîtswein mit Prîdikat).

The German wine law of 1971 also place the quality emphasis on the degree of sweetness (listed below from lowest to highest level) of the grape juice from which the wine is made:

Deutscher Tafelwein: The lowest level of wine, entirely German in origin.

Landwein: A table wine from a delineated district.

QbA (Qualitîtswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete): Quality wine that comes from any one of 11 regions.

QmP (Qualitîtswein mit Prîdikat): Quality wines made from grapes that have achieved the prescribed degree of natural ripeness without having sugar added.

The driest wine is simply labeled Trocken, which is beginning to be written in English as "dry." QmPs are further classified in degrees of sweetness, from lowest to highest: Kabinett, Spîtlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Eiswein and Trockenbeerenauslese.

Australia

Because Australian wines came of age in world markets in the 1980s, it does not yet possess a comprehensive national system of regulating wine quality. Despite its ties to Europe, Australian producers are often compared with Californians, most significantly because their labels feature wines by grape variety, not by region. It is a common perception in the wine industry that Australia follows in California's footsteps. If that's indeed true, then a closer look at California will describe what one should expect on an Australian wine label.

California

Consumers of American wines are accustomed to selecting wines on the strength of the individual maker, such as Sebastiani, or else on the general reputation of a growing region, such as Napa or Sonoma. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms, however, administers U.S. wine law, and has devised an appellation system that is still considered in flux.

The system starts with a country-wide category for table wines. In general, when an appellation appears on a label, 75% of the wine must come from grapes grown in that region. The same applies for each state appellation and each county within each state.

Since 1978, the BATF has been seeking greater clarification by designating areas within each of the states as "American Viticultural Areas" (or AVAs). The intention is to establish precise geographical boundaries that have already won a measure of recognition. Although there are some 100 AVAs in existence, their recognition is but a fraction of the European model, primarily because Americans, like Australians, label wines by grape variety, and are bought by most consumers because of the grape, not the place.

Anthony Giglio is a senior editor at P.O.V. magazine, where he writes about "Eats & Drinks."