Wine label

A wine label is a special type of label usually found on wine bottles and whose goal is to provide information about wine.

Wine labels serve many purposes, the most important being:

• Providing information to consumers. Wine labels are usually the only way that consumers have to receive information about wine. This information may help the consumer decide whether he or she buys a specific bottle of wine. As an example, consumers who are well familiar with the wine industry may decide to buy a certain wine depending on its vintage date. On the other hand, providing information about wine is a legal requirement aimed at guaranteeing consumer safety.
• Advertising. Since the advertising of alcoholic beverages by traditional means is highly restricted, wine labels represent one of the few ways wine manufacturers have to promote their products. As a result, it is essential that the wine label is appealing to consumers.

The information contained in a wine label depends essentially on the legal requirements imposed by the country of sale.

In most cases, a wine label includes the following information:

• The brand name.
• The name of the producer.
• The name of the bottler (if the bottler and the producer are two different persons or entities).
• The name of the importer.
• The appellation title and status.
• The type of wine, including the grape variety, the vineyard name and the vintage date.
• The country and region of origin.
• The alcohol content.
• The sweetness level.
• The volume of the bottle.
• Specific warnings, such as not to drive after drinking or not to drink during pregnancy. These warnings are usually depicted with icons.

Although the manufacturing of wine labels does not differ too much from how other labels are created, certain aspects have to be carefully considered in the design and printing phase.

With regard to design, manufacturers have to take into account that wine labels will, in most cases, be applied over a round surface. It is therefore crucial that the information displayed on the label can be read without the buyer having to rotate the bottle.

On the other hand, wine labels must be applied to surfaces like glass. As a result, special adhesives and materials have to be used so that the label can attach to such surfaces.