| Labels are very important, even if you are not trying to | | | | learn that the major word processing program has |
| sell your wine. How your label looks will set an | | | | pre-formatted label page templates for standard size |
| expectation for how your wine will taste, so even if | | | | labels, and they work with the standard size labels you |
| you are only making wine for yourself, that label will | | | | bought. You use the simple but classic system fonts |
| have a subtle effect on you. And if you give your wine | | | | on your computer, little or no color, and keep the clip |
| away, or try to sell it, then the label may determine | | | | art as tasteful as possible. Ideally, you refrain from |
| whether someone pops the cork right away, or tucks | | | | using clip art at all. |
| your hard work away into a back cabinet to age... until | | | | High Tech |
| the next ice age. | | | | You use a computer with Photoshop to design your |
| Making labels can be high-tech or low-tech. Vintners | | | | labels. They may be four color masterpieces you have |
| can fall into either class in how they do things -- some | | | | professionally printed, or you may get smart and |
| of us are very old school and probably would like to | | | | realize that a well-designed black and white label with |
| have our labels hand-stamped on homemade paper if | | | | no "bleeds" (where the image goes off the paper as |
| we had the time. But vintners also tend to be smart, | | | | part of the design) looks pretty good, especially if it has |
| and quite able to learn new things, so going high-tech | | | | a border. You buy distinctive fonts from a type design |
| with a scanner and Photoshop may be second nature. | | | | house that cost you nearly $100. You find some |
| Let me walk through the options available to you, from | | | | ancient advertising books that have clip art that is now |
| low-tech to high-tech. | | | | in the public domain, and you scan those images into |
| Ultra Low Tech | | | | your computer and then spend 1-2 hours in Photoshop |
| You get a piece of paper that will serve as the label, a | | | | cleaning up those images so they look really, really |
| bottle of glue, a pair of scissors and a pen. If you are | | | | good. Your results are so fantastic people ask you |
| an artist, each label may end up being a piece of art, | | | | who designed your label. |
| though it may take you all afternoon to label six bottles. | | | | What to Put on the Label |
| Low Tech | | | | The type of wine, when you made it, who you are, |
| You go to Staples, or Office Depot, or (even better) a | | | | and where you made it are the most important bits of |
| crafts store that has scrapbooking supplies. You get | | | | information. Consider putting a way to contact you on |
| labels that are acid-free so they will age as well are | | | | the label, whether its a snail-mail address, an email, or |
| your wine. A label size of three by four inches is big | | | | your winery's website. Also consider what you might |
| enough to fit what you need to say. You get a good | | | | say to someone when you handed them the bottle as |
| pen, and do some practice label layouts on a blank | | | | a gift "to have with desserts", or "for cool late summer |
| sheet of paper to get the feel of how you want the | | | | nights" -- and consider putting that on the label as well. |
| label to look, and then you carefully fill out the labels in | | | | Finally, put on any information that may be helpful to |
| your nicest handwriting. | | | | you later, like if you tried a different technique for that |
| Medium Tech | | | | particular batch of wine, include something about that |
| You use a computer with a word processing program | | | | on the label so you can remember which bottle is |
| to design and print your labels. You are delighted to | | | | which five years from now. |