Before I started learning about wine seriously, I was curious but confused. Wine labels seemed to conceal more than they revealed. I assumed Bordeaux and Chianti were types of grapes. I thought screw caps signaled cheap wine. I imagined grapes thrived best in sunny, fertile places. Reviews spoke of “forest floor,” “petrol,” and “pencil shavings” — terms that sounded more like dares than descriptions. It took years of reading and tasting to correct the neglect.

This column is for anyone who stands where I once stood. The harvest season seems like a good time to review a few clear principles that can reset the framework and help explain the mystery behind the labels.

The first principle is counterintuitive. Grapevines make their best fruit when they struggle. Vines pampered by fertile soil

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