Winter weather impacts both our personal and professional lives — frozen water pipes, school closures, icy streets. And if you live in an area where freezing temperatures are the norm, you can add labeling problems to that list. Labels that apply and perform perfectly during summer months will fail when the temperature drops if you don’t take the proper precautions.

You’ve poured your heart and soul into crafting the perfect wine or spirit, and now it’s time to choose the perfect bottle and label to match. You’ve probably already considered the color, shape, style and size of your packaging — but which bottle supplier should you use?  

Cost will be the deciding factor for most wineries and distilleries. Customers want high-quality products at a low price, and packaging seems like a natural place to reduce costs. But cheap packaging materials can come with hidden costs of their own.  

Regulations make for dry reading, so you might want to have a cup of coffee before tackling this topic. 9 primary requirements for wine labels are covered here, with a reading time of about 12 minutes– depending on how many times you nod off in the process.

The Federal Alcohol Administration (FAA) Act articulates the labeling rules for wine containing at least 7 percent alcohol by volume (ABV). According to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau:

“TTB’s regulations exist to prevent the deception of the consumer and provide them with 'adequate information' as to the identity and quality of the product, to prohibit false or misleading statements, and to provide information as to the alcohol content of the product.”

With nearly 9,000 wineries in the U.S., the market saturation of affordable entry level wines is higher than ever. Established wineries have found more fertile ground in the mid-to-high end price range where competition is more profitable. Studies show wineries must have high quality labels to be competitive in the segment.

The Creative Chiropractor

Before becoming a full-time winemaker in June of this year, David Morris spent three decades as a chiropractor, straddling winemaking and running a tasting room on the weekends, and managing his practice during the week.

It's been a few years since we featured Mark McNeilly's renowned Mark Ryan Winery, and Seattle Magazine's 2011 Winemaker of the Year hasn't slowed down at all.

Next year will mark the 44th anniversary of Wisconsin's second largest winery, Three Lakes Winery, founded on the original cranberry wine by the late John McCain and his wife Maureen in 1972. Brothers Mark and Scott McCain now run the family business, which has grown from producing around 30,000 bottles a year to more than 400,000. Scott is the winemaker, while Mark serves as president and general manager.

We have the tremendous privilege of working with talented brand managers and designers across a wide variety of industries. With our 25th anniversary just a month away, we thought this would be a great time to update our label product gallery to include some of our all-time favorite labels.