Wine is meant to please your palate — not your eyes.

Why then do we choose the bottle with the fancy label as opposed to the plain labeled option beside it on the shelf?

Whether a wine is good or bad has nothing to do with the label. In fact, some of the best wines I've had the pleasure & honor of enjoying were poured from nondescript bottles. Some of the worst examples of wine I've had the displeasure of tasting were presented in bottles with labels so beautiful that I felt the need to frame them. Please understand, I am not implying that wines with beautiful labels are over compensating with the presentation of a high quality exterior to mask a poor quality interior. What I am saying is that just because it's pretty doesn't guarantee that it's palatable.

So, you have to ask yourself, are you buying a wine to show it off or sip it down? If the latter is your position, when walking into a wine shop, the look of the label should not even be a matter of consideration with your selection. The contents of the wine's character, clearly printed on the label are where you need to shift your focus.

Now, when it comes to the label's contents, focus on the facts — not the flowery adjectives. Pay attention to where it came from and who made it. The "years of tradition used to cultivate luxurious levels of silky tannin" is of little relevance. When you strip away the sales pitch and look at the product without the played-up language and label, you'll get a much better read of what that wine is all about.