New World (from North America and the southern hemisphere) and Old World (European) wine labels come in different forms. New World wines are labeled mostly by grape variety. Old World wines, on the other hand, are labeled by place. In Europe, strict rules govern what grapes can go in a wine labeled with a specific place -- for example, if you see Burgundy on a label and it's a red wine from France, it has to be 100% Pinot Noir. If you see Burgundy and it's white wine, it's 100% Chardonnay. (And if it says Burgundy and it's not from France, please don't buy it)

The basic New World label has the following on it:
• Winery name
• Where the grapes were grown
• The name of the vineyard (only sometimes, if it's from a special vineyard)
• What kind of wine it is (most often the grape variety or the blend of grapes; sometimes just a brand name)
• Percentage of alcohol
• What year the grapes were grown (a.k.a. the vintage. If there's no year listed, it's a blend of years)

What does all this mean? The two most important things you need to know are places and grapes:
• Warm climates give you bigger, higher-alcohol wines on the tropical-fruit side of the scale. Colder climates will give you more acidic wines with apple/pear fruit notes
• Get to know your grapes -- for example, try a couple different Chardonnays from different climates: One from California, another from Australia, another from South America. Then, you've got a good sense of the possible range of what Chardonnay can do in the New World

What you'll find on an Old World label:
• Name of the wine (usually a brand name)
• Region it was grown
• Winery (this is often small-print)
• Vintage
• Percentage of alcohol

In order to master Old World wines, you can either memorize the grape-to-place rules, or make educated guesses based on climate. The best thing to do is a little bit of both.

For example, a grape like Syrah (sometimes called Shiraz) makes super-juicy, spicy, jammy wines in Australia or California. It's also the major grape of the northern Rhône region in France, where it's cold and hilly. In the northern Rhône, Syrah's still spicy, but it's not nearly as juicy and lush as it is in Australia or California -- it's restrained and full of fresh red berry flavors, but it's definitely not jamlike.

Similarly, a California Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend will be smokier and denser than that same blend in Bordeaux, which are generally earthier, with more structure and less bold fruit. And some grapes, like the Sangiovese used in Chianti or the Tempranillo used in Rioja, just don't do well in other places, so you'll rarely see a New World Sangiovese.

German and Austrian wines are labeled by grape in addition to region. Rieslings from the German-speaking world are also labeled according to degrees of ripeness-when-picked, which generally corresponds to sweetness. In order from least-sweet to most-sweet: Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, and Trockenbeerenauslese (sometimes abbreviated TBA).

If you find you particularly love the wines of a specific region, it's absolutely worth digging deeper and learning more. The best way to learn is to taste as much wine as you possibly can -- take advantage of in-store tastings and locally offered wine classes to discover what works for you.