> The average American won't know what the
> heck "Cotes du Rhone - Villages" means.
>
> Dan-O (just my two cents)
>

In which case how is the cépage information going to help
him?

My point is simply that, even with a single varietal, its identity
only sets very broad boundaries of taste: terroir, winemaker and his
method, including use of oak, temperature of fermentation and degree
of extraction, maceration, use of triage, defeuillage, green
harvesting, all have such a massively marked effect so that the less
experienced are more likely to be misled into thinking that, for
example, the French Pinot Noir labelled wine they liked last week will
be the same as the one they are offered this week from a different
grower and/or place. That is why I have such grave doubts about the
benefits of varietal labelling — it is not informative to the less
experienced — it is in fact a likely snare and a potential delusion.
(You will note I have asssumed that the unwary inexperienced buyer is
looking for another French Pinot Noir — a fortiori, the argument if he
strays outside national boundaries.) Once you get into blended wines
the arguments are stronger still that mere percentage blend
information is even less helpful.

Tim Hartley