People only just realising what the letters on wine bottles mean - and which three to avoid

If you've ever wandered down the in your local supermarket, you'll know there's no shortage of and wonderful sounding red, white, rose and sparkling to try.

But with so many grape varieties, brands and bottle designs to choose from, finding a wine you might like can be a little overwhelming. Often, it ends up being easier to just pick up yet another bottle of your go-to tipple.

Luckily, an expert has shared his shortcut to "understanding Italian wine in less than 40 seconds", helping shoppers decode wine labels. Posting to , wine communicator and consultant Luke Flunder said it's all about three letters on the label.

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Italy's wine classification system means that lots of Italian wines have letters on their labels. According to wine site , the common ones are:

• DOP – Denominazione d’Origine Protetta / Protected Designation of Origin (divided into DOC & DOCG)
• IGP – Indicazione Geografica Protetta / Protected Geographic Indication
• VdT – Vino da Tavola

Luke explained that wines with IGT on the label tend to come "from a big area" and are more likely to be "mid-quality". He continued: “If it has DOC on the label it comes from a smaller area [with] more rules and regulations” and so tends to be “mid to high-quality.”

If you're after a higher-quality wine, Luke said that you should instead look for labels with four letters. If your wine is labelled DOCG, “it comes from an even smaller area [with] even stricter rules and regulations," he said, adding this "should mean the highest quality".

At the other end of the spectrum, Decanter says that VdT means “table wine”, which “is the lowest level of wine classification in Italy, typically designed for high volume bulk wines, with little in the way of restrictions.”

And if you see no letters at all on your Italian wine’s label, Luke explained that's because “grapes can come from anywhere in the country.”

Luke admitted that this system isn't 100 per cent accurate, adding in the caption: “This is a rough guide but there are exceptions to the rules. Some wines such as Super Tuscans are classified as IGT but are amongst the most sought after in the world."