Applying Wine Labels

I just make sure my newly filled and corked bottles are dry before I add the wine label. After I apply the label, then I usually let the bottles sit in the upright position for 3-5 days before laying them on their sides in my wine rack. Darlene

Kevin, My answer really depends on the labels you have so I will generalize a bit. Some are adhesive backed and you peal off the backside and apply. The type I think you have are adhesive backed, and you give the a real quick dip in warm water, shake off the excess, and then apply. What I have found that works for application is this: Get some thing square that is around the height that you want the bottom of the lable. Let's say a lb of butter box. Place it in front of the bottle as it stands upright on your counter where you can look right at it without breaking your back. align the label in relationship to the box as this will be square. "Tack" the label in the middle with your finger and shift it until you are happy with it. Start in the middle and smooth the label out to the edge. Wipe off any glue that oozes out with a dry paper towel. If it is oozing alot you are using too much water. If you are consistently having trouble getting the label to smooth out near the top edge then you are probably applying the label to high near the neck down area which is a smaller radius. HTH John Dixon

Kevin,

Some kit labels are peel and stick, others are dry in a stack which require re-wetting. The following has worked fine for me. For dry labels a quick (and complete) dip in a bowl of luke-warm water is the easiest re-wetting method. A quick shake will remove excess water. With the bottle lying on it's side, hold the label with two hands (from each side) and attach label to bottle. With a dry tea towel pat excess water away. Working fairly quickly, slide the label straight if required. Note: often there is a vertical line in the glass running from top to bottom that can be used as a guide for running the label parallel and straight. There is less opportunity to correct a crooked label of the peel and stick variety.

Jim

Thanks so much for the details. Just what I was hoping to get. I've been making wine since the 60's but have not experienced the label bit yet. So, looking forward to the first attempt. A lot of my friends will be happier this Christmas as several of them have been encouraging me to make my wine more professional. Looking that is. Have a great Holiday. Kevin

snipped-for-privacy@pris.ca (Kevin) scribed upon the newsgroup scroll news: snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com:

I make labels on plain paper on a color printer, cut to size, and then use Elmer's glue stick to stick them on. Nice end product, very inexpensive, no wrinkling. Just make sure the label is around the barrell part of the bottle, not up on the shoulder where the diameter decreases.

snipped-for-privacy@pris.ca (Kevin) wrote in news:1b380f9f.0312150054.22c5def5 @posting.google.com:

What I do is use a sponge, turn the label over and use a damp (not soaking wet) sponge to wet the label and then apply it to the bottle. If you have the bottle laying down, form the label into a 'U' and put the middle of the label on the bottle and slowly lower your hands. I use a color ink-jet printer and getting the label wet by dipping would make my ink run. I used to use a laser jet which wouldn't run but I wanted to go to color.

Good luck,

-Arjay