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Drink Guides: How to Read Labels

A label tells you where a drink comes from, what it is made of, how it was aged and how it is graded. Know just a few terms and you can roughly tell what kind of drink an unfamiliar bottle is. Here is how to read the label, drink by drink.

findsool editorial team · 2026-09-28

• How to Read a Wine LabelRegion, grape variety and vintage, classification terms such as AOC, DOCG and Kabinett, and even the Korean-language back label added by the importer
• How to Read a Whisky LabelThe difference between single malt and blended, what the age statement means, cask strength and cask types
• How to Read a Sake LabelThe rice polishing ratio (seimaibuai) that defines Junmai, Ginjo and Daiginjo, sake meter value (nihonshu-do) and acidity, and terms you will often see
• How to Read Korean Traditional Liquor, Soju & Makgeolli LabelsDiluted vs. distilled soju, how to tell takju, yakju and cheongju apart, and how ingredients and pasteurisation are labelled

Three things to check first on a label

Whatever the type of drink, the things to check first on the label are much the same.

1. Who made it — the name of the producer, brewery or distillery. It is usually the largest text on the label.
2. Where it was made, and from what — the region and the raw materials. For wine, look at the grape variety or region; for whisky, whether it is malt or grain; for sake and makgeolli, the type of rice and where it was grown.
3. How it was made — terms that tell you about the production method and quality, such as the age statement, vintage, rice polishing ratio and classification.

Imported drinks sold in Korea carry a Korean-language back label (added by the importer), so you can check the importer, country of origin, alcohol content and volume in Korean. If the front label is hard to make sense of, starting from the back is one way to go.