"How to Read a Wine Label" from the Wall Street Journal. This article has great tips on selecting a bottle of wine with no information to go on other than that which is provided on the label.
A few highlights:
Most wine at the store is to be consumed now, so you want to make sure the wine isn't too old.
Wines with too much alcohol taste unbalanced. When in doubt, select a wine with an alcohol content at about 14% and below.
On American wines, the word "reserve"doesn't mean anything, so ignore it.
