Custom wine labels are a great solution for getting a business name out there. Whether your shop is actually devising and brewing a vintage, handling a wine for a client, or just wanting to promote the company through a wine gift, the idea of getting your imprint on a bottle can be a powerful marketing tool.

Businesses can choose from a few basic custom wine labels types and styles by checking out online venues that handle nearly everything from the selection of materials to the printing and delivery. Business leaders will want to choose their designs, and also their materials, according to the end goal. Reader can find standard options for custom wine labels online, for:

1. Putting the "company stamp" on an in-house product that promises to sell big, with custom wine labels including wine info and origin.

2. Getting neat promotional items for gift packs or distribution at trade shows or other events.

3. Finding solutions for helping a client or customer to market the bottles they produce or distribute.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find paper custom wine labels

One standard option for wine related businesses is the crisp, vibrant look of a paper wine label. These can be full-bottle designs or just partial applications. Many wine makers choose opaque paper custom wine labels that stand out against the bottle.

I recommend: Get customization of paper wine labels from Personal Wine. MyOwnLabels offers other neat designs in paper labeling in a variety of styles and colors. Find specific designs where colors complement each other and good "blocking" allows your company name or logo to jump off the bottle.

Locate other partially transparent custom wine labels from plastics or other materials

A new trend in custom wine labels is less opaque custom wine labels made from plastics or synthetics. Some companies claim these designs will stand up better than paper. There's also a different look to plastic printed custom wine labels that the buyer can see through, so that a logo or other imprint 'blends' more with the bottle.

I recommend: Find custom wine labels from synthetics for durability at Bottle Your Brand. Get more "sticker" type custom labels applicable to wine designs at sites like Lightning Labels.

Get more specialized custom wine labels

There's more in custom wine labels offered online: buyers can look at innovative 'shaped' custom wine labels, as well as options for getting 'grander' styles with gold or silver foil or other materials. Getting premier wine label solutions will boost the value of the bottle and help you promote your business.

I recommend: Check out this interesting "write in" wine label style as well as off-center designs and more at Designer Daily. Also consider foil stamp and embossing options from sites like Labels West.

There are many reasons why more and more businesses are seeking custom wine lables. These labels allow companies to place their name and logo on bottles of wine, which can then be served at business functions or given as corporate gifts. Some businesses, including restaurants, are choosing to sell wine and personally labeled wine provides a great marketing opportunity. Recipients tend to hold onto wine for a while and tend to enjoy it with a festive air during holidays and other special occasions— ideal times to remind consumers of your company.

Most people appreciate a good bottle of wine and with a custom wine lable, that wine can become a smart marketing tool. Today, it is even possible to place customized lables on very good wine—straight from the vineyard, and personalized labels are more professional and elegant than ever before. If you're thinking of using a good grape to make your marketing statement, consider:

1. Buying your custom wine label from a specialized label service for best printing results.

2. Purchasing custom wine label software for optimum control over your label's appearance.

3. Contacting wineries for their custom labels to enjoy higher quality wine as well as attractive labels.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Choose the right custom wine label service

The best printing services, of which feature high quality printing jobs with true-to-life color, specialize in custom wine labels are your best option for substantial label orders. If you're buying wine and labels separately, printing labels with such a service often saves you money. Some services even offer lable consulting or templates, so you don't have to come up with a design from scratch.

I recommend: My Own Labels lets you customize your own wine labels in the amounts you need -- whether you want a small order for company gifts or enough to supply a small vineyard. Online Labels specializes in customized lables, from oval and square wine bottle labels to custom-designed solutions.

Buy software to create custom wine labels

If you want to create many types of labels or plan on frequently using wine for promotional purposes, it makes sense to buy software that lets you create custom wine labels with your company computer. One advantage of this software is that it allows you to experiment with many styles and looks before printing labels. Using high quality software is also one of the most affordable ways to print custom labels.

I recommend: Wine Label Software is a leading software program used by boutique wineries and micro breweries. The software boasts more than 500 templates and is designed to make creating superb labels simple. LabelMaker is Stoney Creek's proprietary wine label software. The program uses a POP collection of wine label blanks.

Purchase both wine and custom wine labels from a winery for the highest quality product

If you're using custom-labeled wine as a marketing tool and your audience knows wines well, then, of course, a pretty label is not enough. Buying labels and wine directly from wineries lets you control the quality of wine while also creating custom labels. Many wineries now offer their wine with custom wine lables and can accommodate large orders for companies.

I recommend: Northwest Cellars offers personalized wine labels for business events, business gifts, non-profits and more. J. Filippi Winemaker's Reserve is a California-based winery featuring custom labels as well as wholesale services for companies.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  When designing a custom wine label, consider making different labels for red, blush and white wines. Since wine preferences vary widely, it's important to order a variety to reach a broad audience.

As a business owner you are aware of the importance of a personal touch with your customers and clients. A personal touch lets the customer know that you appreciate them, and their business. Whether your business takes place in the corporate world or among the grapes at a winery, custom wine labels are a necessity for you to have on hand.

As a corporate or business gift, a bottle with a custom wine label shows sophistication and personalization. For winery owners it depicts necessary information in a classy and appealing manner. Regardless of your reason for using wine in your business, it is important to understand custom wine labels pricing and costs so that you can create the ideal budget for such business expenditures. When considering the cost of custom wine labels, there are a few factors that need to be kept in mind:

1. Custom wine labels can be pre-printed by a supplier.

2. You can buy printing equipment to make your own on custom wine labels for your business.

3. There are other costs, besides labels, to consider when making a budget for custom wine labels pricing and costs.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Have your supplier print custom wine labels for your business

Whether you own a small winery or you have a large number of corporate clients' gifts to give at a time, supplier printed labels are great choices. Your labels can be printed in a variety of sizes and shapes, and in most cases you can choose the material and embellishments that are included on your custom wine labels.

I recommend: To order 250 or more labels at a time, visit MaverickLabel.com. It ships labels directly to you, and they are ready to be applied. Costs vary from $300 to $3000 for 250, depending on size and material. For a per label cost of $.15 to $1.20, check out MyOwnLabels.com. It’s selection is sure to meet your business needs.

Print your own custom wine labels with the right supplies

The pricing and costs of custom wine labels can be drastically decreased, if you have a large winery, by printing your own labels. Printing custom wine labels does have a large upfront cost, but it helps the bottom line in the long run. For in-house printing you will likely need a printer, labels and an automatic or semi-automatic labeling machine.

I recommend: For a selection of printers check out Quick Label Systems, costs range from $3000 to $18000 depending on the size and functions of the machine. To spend $100 to $600 for 1000 sheets of blank labels that are ready for printing, visit Online Labels. It has labels for all sizes and shapes of wine bottles, and they are sure to fit your needs.

Consider other costs when making your budget for custom wine labels

Besides the labels, materials and printing costs there are other expenditures that are associated with custom wine labels pricing and costs. One of the most common of these costs is design. Some suppliers offer in-house custom design services, while others you can submit your own design or have the choice between both options.

I recommend: Check out the design services for custom wine labels at Lilies. It offers both in-house custom design services and the ability for customers to submit their own design for printing. Design costs range from $50 to $200. For competitive pricing in every market visit Wine Label Design, the specialized label dressing department of Ideoma Design.

Any time a wine maker wants to put their stamp on a bottle of their newest vintage, custom wine labels play an integral role. The more a label can be customized to fit the needs of the maker, the better the wine will generally sell. Custom wine labels are a crucial part of the wine industry, and learning about some basic key terms for wine labels can help a wine making business or distributor figure out how to succeed in creating the perfect marketing solution to fit on a bottle.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Wine label software

Wine label software allows wineries and others to 'program' their labels using specific tech tools.

I recommend: See more on wine label software from sites like Stoney Creek Wine Press.

Boutique wineries

Boutique wineries represent a common representation of a wine vending operation: these small winery shops often distribute wines from various sellers, wines with their own custom labels. Any business involved with these shops, or any business striving to become one, will be interested in technology for wine labels.

I recommend: See tips on running boutique wineries at this BNet page.

Wine personality

Savvy wine makers know that a bottle is much more than just a medium for transporting wine, and that labels can be the prime expression of what's inside. A wine's 'personality' is its taste and what that associates to the customer.

I recommend: See details on using custom wine labels to represent a wine's personality and more at Practical Winery and Vineyard online.

Thermal printing

Thermal printing is a new kind of printing that uses heat transfer to provide crisp and clear color to a variety of products including wine labels.

I recommend: See more on thermal printing at Webopedia. Find links to thermal printed wine labels at GlobalSpec.

Removable labels

Removable wine labels are labels that were made to be removed from wine bottles. Non-removable or permanent labels are very hard to collect, but removable labels can be collected and continue to represent the wine maker after the bottle is gone.

I recommend: Find out more about removable labels at this page from Napa Yellow Pages. Get more on removable wine labels from this page at Wine Reviews.

Synthetic and water resistant wine labels

Synthetic wine labels are an alternative to paper. Synthetic wine labels are made from durable polymer materials and stand up to some conditions better than paper.

I recommend: See more about synthetic wine labels (bottom of page) at Bottle Your Brand.