wine categories

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Actually, the term table wine has different meanings depending on where you are in the world. In New Zealand it refers to any non-fortified or non-sparkling wine. In the U.S. it refers to any still grape wine with an alcohol level between 7% and 14%. In the EU still grape wine has one of two legal nomenclatures - either table wine or quality wine. If it's "quality" wine, it can carry the designation of the AOC, DO, DOC, DOCG or whatever to denote that it complies with all the laws, rules and regulations mandated by the local government entity to enable the wine to have those designations on the label. In order to make wines a bit differently in a particular region, many winemakers prefer not to label their wines as quality, but make the wines the way they want to with the grapes they want to use, and they then label the wine "table wine" (or vin table, or vino di tavola, or whatever). So, you'll see wines like super Tuscans from Italy labelled vino di tavola instead of having the DOCG label, because the winemakers are making the wines they want, not the wines the government dictates they must make to use the DOCG label. It has nothing to do with reverse snobbery - it's a winemaker doing his own thing without government control making him grow only certain grapes a certain way with certain yields to produce a very particular style of wine. Sort of the libertarian winemaker movement.

Dessert wines are any wines with very perceptible residual sugar, usually from 6% and up, including fortified wines.

Sparkling wines are any wines from anywhere in the world which are bottled with natural or induced carbination.

Distilled spirits are clear liquids obtained by distilling fermented beverages with or without added flavoring agents. Aging in various types of containers adds color and character.