Wine Labels - what do you use?

For my own cellar, I use a black sharpie on clear bottles, and a silver sharpie on dark bottles, and write directly on the glass.

DAve, I use Avery or 'Office Depot ripoff of Avery' shipping labels that are

3.3 x 4; both work out fine. I don't have any issues with moisture, these stay put fine. You get 6 per label sheet. I have wines from '95 in the wine cellar with this label. It won't come off until you want it to.

I use an Epson printer because their ink is waterproof, I think HP's is too.

As to temporary labels I just use surgical or athletic tape, sometimes the adhesive stays on the carboy just like it stays in your body though...

Joe

I use Print Shop Pro for layout- it came with Avery templates- and 28# stationary, a nice heavy stock. Aformer tenant left me an old schoolhouse paper guillotine, perfect for repeated, straight cut labels. I attatch them with a water soluable glue which soak off in about 20 mins. Most of our gift wine recipients eagerly trade back empties for "refills." For temps, I bought a gazillion 1x1 string tags at a flea market for a buck; i hand write & hang them until i need a better label.

DAve, I use Avery labels too and I've never had one fall off even after 5 years. I just make my own, but that is me. Ease of removal is always a plus considering I recycle my sister-in-laws wine bottles - so it is always nice to have labels slide off from my bottles. Darlene

Dave - I use Southworth Fine Parchment Paper (a gold color) and my HP printer. I stick them on with a glue stick. Just a basic label that gives the name of my vineyard & winery, the year and the grape (or fruit). In very small print I also add the following information; %TA, pH, fg (final specific gravity), sulfite ppm, alcohol % and date bottled. At wine club meetings these labels let me discuss everything about a particular wine.

Bill Frazier Olathe, Kansas USA

Dave,

I do exactly the same as Bill Frasier, right down to the brand of printer, as a matter of fact. My labels say "Mike's Good Wine", the variety & year, a pithy quote, and "Grown & Produced at" my home. Instead of the technical details, which most of my guests don't care about, I have a graphic of a Medieval winemaker.

I too use a paper guillotine to trim the 6 labels out of a sheet.

String tags label individual carboys 'til bottling.

DAve,

One way that I have found to make the labels that I print with my inkjet printer hold up to water is to seal them with clear enamal spray paint. I just lay all of the pages of printed labels out on a large sheet of scrap paper(or newspaper)and make a few quick passes over them with a spray can. Within a couple of minutes, they are ready to apply to the bottles. This seems to keep the smudging to a minimum and water typically does not affect them. The labels will still soak off the bottles when you are cleaning them for the next batch.

Stephen

snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com wrote:

My wife is the artist and label maker in our family and she has created some beautiful grapes on a woodblock that she transfers to an Avery Label and then handwrites the year and variety. But, we only use these for bottles we are ready to give away. Up til that time we just label each bottle with a small, round avery label that is the same size as the cork and stick these on top of each bottle cork. Just the date and variety. If we plan to drink it or serve it at home this is good enough for us.

Wow. Great idea. I'll add that to my list. I am getting lots of great thoughts. thanks, all!

DAve

stephen mellish wrote:

Avery makes a full page (8.5 x 11) label. I can get two nice custom made wine labels out of that. I once made a nice label for a bottle of white wine for a friend of mine who was leaving on vacation. I called it "Titanic White". The picture part of the label showed the Titanic sinking. Part of the label read..."If you ever get that sinking feeling, try a glass of Titanic White to perk up your spirits." Naturally, she was leaving on a cruise.

Bob Becker snipped-for-privacy@becker.org

Thanks, Bob. What is the Avery # for a full page label? wow. that sounds huge. Do you use the Avery software?

Neat label content idea. She must have laughed, nervously. :*) I hadn't thought about theme based labeling. hmm.

DAve

Bob Becker wrote:

It's 5165 for the laser label.

Usually MS Publisher.

I do it a lot. If someone is having an anniversary, I'll make them a bottle with their photo and a nice blurb about their life, etc. It's a lot of fun. And people don't forget "their" bottle of wine.

I generally use a format with the picture and main info on the left 2/3 ofd the label and then write the blurb down the right side in the remaining

1/3. Looks good.

It should probably usually be red wine because people tend to save them. White doesn't last all that long.