Removing labels on wine bottles

I am aquiring alot of used wine bottles and want to know if there is any easy way to remove labels from the bottles. I dont want to keep the labels just want clean bottles. any suggestions? Stephen

Reply to
Stephen
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Easy...well that depends on the glue which the winery used to put the labels on. I start with filling the sink with hot soapy water and filling the bottles with hot water. I let them sit and soak. Some labels will just float off after 5-10 minutes, others require a bit more work. Like scraping the label off with a knife which doesn't scrape the glass, using goo-gone to get the glue off or any part of the label which doesn't come off after soaking or scrapping. If you finally get the label off, then clean the bottles again with hot soapy water. For those really tough labels, there's always the final option of breaking the bottle and scrapping the label off from the inside, but I have yet to try that. ;o) Darlene

Reply to
Dar V

Bottles are easy to come by. Many people will save them for you and you can even ask your local restaurants and bars for them. Or, you can buy them relatively inexpensively. Thus, I tend to use only those bottles where the labels will come right off after a soak in hot soapy water. Bottles with stubborn labels go right into my recycling box. I have observed certain types of labels tend to come off easier. These include European wines (Italy, Spain, France particularly). Papery type labels as opposed to more glossy labels also tend to come off easier. US wines are hit or miss. Most Australian labels won't come off with a blow torch.

Reply to
Greg Cook

I have to agree about US wines. Another I've noticed that's pretty easy to remove are the wines from small local wineries. All these seem to float right off the bottle.

As for difficult ones, I've seen some where you can actually feel the glue under the label. These either fall right off when you fill the bottle with hot water, or take a chisel to take it off.

Greg

Reply to
gsmith81

I have had better luck with the Australian labels peeling them dry. Lehman & Lindeman and yellowtail...peeling them without any water or immersion. Sometimes if you slowly just start peeling in from the corner you oftern get the whole thing to roll up in one piece and most of the adhesive clings to it and is removed also.

Reply to
Michael

I recently purchased a couple of riesling bottles from Hernder Estates. The labels are somehow etched into the glass. It is a shame to waste such beautifull bottles. I'll have to recylce them or change my name to Hernder.

Reply to
Joe Ae

You know, I have noticed that some (not a majority) of them also peel of easily. Interestingly, I find myself trying to peel the labels off of all the wine I sit down with! If I get it off at the table then I'll keep the bottle. :)

Reply to
Greg Cook

Two types of glue are used, the one that goes off easily in hot water and the other one. For this other one there is a trick. Heat the bottle in the oven at 150 F for about 5 minutes. The glue will melt a little and the label can easily be peeled. The hic is that the glue will remain on the bottle. You can take it off with a thinner.

Personnaly, I prefer hot water and scratch with a knife, and finish it with a thinner. The oven trick is wonderful if you like to collect your wine labels.

Reply to
Willie

Reply to
Stephen

There is simply two kinds of glue, synthetics and not. The not will float off very nicely within a day of two being submerged in water. The other comes in two degree. One that will NEVER kind of wanting to leave the bottle. Remember who these where and make sure you NEVER by them again. Even send them a letter telling them about your problem. Do anything you can to get them to change the glue for their labels. It is really up to you, the more fuzz you make ... The other will scrape away.

Best tool is a one sided razorblade. And remember to take this problem in account for when you decide to make a label in the first place. If it is for your own wine, how big of a label do you really need? I mean how big is your ego in the first place? The bigger the label, the bigger...

I use Avery 8167

SG Brix

Reply to
sgbrix

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