Which Wine Label Size Fits Your Bottle? Four Recommendations.

March 7, 2017 by Cindy Springer 12 Comments

Creating a personalized wine label for homemade wine or for a special occasion is not something you do everyday so you might have a few questions about choosing label sizes. We’ve plenty of information on our site about creating label artwork, so this post will address what size label fits your wine bottle.

Whether you just made your first batch of wine, (congratulations!), or you’ve purchased wine to re-label for a gift, you’ll want to choose the best label size.

Sizes for Re-Labeling Store Bought Wine for Gifts

You have two choices when re-labeling wine you buy to present as a gift. You can either cover the existing wine label, or, as we recommend, soak off the existing label and apply the new one. If you’re all about doing things the easy way then you’re probably only looking to slap that sticker on the bottle and go. In that case you will want to create a label that fits over the one already on the bottle you bought.

In the photo below are bottles from the store and the first three bottles on the left have rectangle labels that are taller than they are wide. Usually the 4″ w x 6″ h label fits bottles such as these. The next two bottles, number 4 and 5 from the left, the label is a little taller than it is wide. You’ll most likely have good luck with the 3.5″ w x 4″ h labels. The bottle on the far right has a square label. Because of the steep slope of the bottle shoulders a tall label won’t work on this bottle. The 4″ x 4″ square label would probably be a safe choice.

How to Label a Wine Bottle That Already Has a Label

For special occasions where you want to give a bottle with your custom label on it we recommend you first purchase the bottle and then measure the existing label. Order the label that will ensure complete coverage of the old label on the bottle. Since BYB labels are made from a synthetic material and are heavier weight than paper, covering up the old label is an option.

To put the new label on the bottle simply pull the protective backing from one section where there’s a seam. Leave part of the backing on the new label. This will give you a chance to line up your label on the bottle without messing up and having the entire label stick on crooked. Once you have aligned the label then pull the remaining backing off and smooth the label away from the center to all four edges. This gives you a good application without bubbles.

As you can see by this illustration, the new label is taller and wider than the label on the bottle. This makes it easy to cover the old label without a lot of fuss. The custom label in this example is 5″ x 5″. If you’re a purist and want to remove the existing label before you put the new one on the bottle please visit this page for tips on how to remove the existing wine labels.

Label Sizes for Homemade Wine

When labeling homemade wine the first thing you must address is the bottle shape. Bottle shapes are historically chosen by the wine producers from various regions in the world. True wine connoisseurs know what’s in a wine bottle just by looking at the shape! Vintners follow the traditions of their local area when it comes to bottling wine in the appropriately shaped bottle. So be sure to read on to view the bottle shapes and what size label fits them.

Wine Label Size Recommendations According to Bottle Shape

The sizes we recommend based on the most common bottle shapes are:

3.5 inches wide by 4 inches high
4 inches by 4 inches
5 inches by 5 inches
4 inches wide by 6 inches high or reversed 6 inches wide by 4 inches high

The pre-made wine label templates on our site are 3.5 inches wide by 4 inches high. The other sizes can be found on the Make Your Own pages either under Rectangle Stickers or Square Stickers. Using the online designer any label size is customizable. Whether you use a template in the “standard” size 3.5 w x 4 h or make a design from scratch, all four sizes we listed are options.

We took the five most common wine bottle shapes and created this guide to help you choose a wine label size. You may know some of these bottle shapes already, but I bet you’ve never thought about what size label fits what wine bottle until you undertook making your own custom wine label. Use this guide to make the perfect label for your wine bottle.

Five Common Wine Bottle Shapes and Which Label Size to Use

#1 Alsace or Mosel Bottle Shape

The Alsace or Mosel bottle is a slender bottle with gently sloping sides. It’s taller that other wine bottle styles. This style bottle is used for sweet dessert wines like Riesling or Gewurztraminer. As you can see by the illustration the label shouldn’t be any taller than 4.5 inches to prevent wrinkles forming on the label. Recommendation: Use the 3.5″ w x 4″ h or 4″ x 4″ wine label size.

#2 Bordeaux Bottle Shape

The Bordeaux bottle has straight sides and a defined shoulder. This is a widely used bottle size and most likely is the size you’ll use for home wine making. This bottle is versatile since many label sizes fit this shape. Label this bottle with a label as tall as 6.5 inches. The tallest label to customize on BYB is 6 inches high and looks great on this bottle style. Recommendation: Use the 3.5″ w x 4″ h, 4″ x 4″, 5″ x 5″, or 4″ w x 6″ h wine label size.

#3 Burgundy Bottle Shape

The Burgundy bottle has gently sloping shoulders which cuts into height choices for labeling. These bottles have a slightly more stout width than other bottles. They are used for Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and some Barolo wines. A label no higher than 4 1/2 inches fits this bottle perfectly. Recommendation: Use the 3.5″ w x 4″ h or 4″ x 4″ wine label size.

#4 Champagne or Sparkling Wine Bottle Shapes

Champagne bottles generally have sloping shoulders and a deep punt, (the indentation on the bottom of the bottle.) The pressure inside the bottle is the reason for the shape and the thick glass. There’s a lot of pressure inside a Champagne bottle! Choose a label that’s no more than 4 inches high or better yet an oval label. Since some Champagne bottles have steeply curved sides we recommend you check your bottle first before creating your label. Recommendation: Use the 4″ x 4″ label size.

#5 Rhone Bottle Shape

The Rhone bottle is similar to the Burgundy bottle but may differ in circumference, (the distance around.) The shoulders have a slightly more angular slope than the Burgundy bottle. Wines bottled in this shape bottle are Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Syrah. The tallest label recommended for this shape is 4 1/2 inches. Recommendation: Use the 3.5″ w x 4″ h or 4″ x 4″ label size.

How to Label a Blank Wine Bottle

The best way to label a blank wine bottle is to follow these steps:

If you can find a wine bottle chock like the one here it will make labeling your bottle a breeze. If not, place the bottle on a surface that will not allow it to roll, with the top of the bottle pointing at 12 o’clock away from your body. We recommend using your lap, with your knees holding the bottle securely.
Slip one fingernail under the corner of the label or flex the label to ‘crack’ the seam on the protective backing. Pull away only one portion of the backing to expose the adhesive.
Grasp the label lightly on both ends and align horizontally with the label area on the bottle. Most wine bottles will have a seam in the glass you can use to line up the vertical edge of the label. Press the label edge on the seam and once it’s aligned press down lightly on the edge. Pull the remaining protective backing away and smooth the label carefully with the pads of your fingertips. Do not use your fingernails to smooth the label.
Smooth all the edges down firmly on all four corners.

If you need help with determining a label size feel free to email us at info at bottleyourbrand.com. We’re happy to point you in the right direction.

Last Minute Holiday Wine Gift Bags

December 7, 2016 by Cindy Springer Leave a Comment

Giving a gift you know someone is going to like makes Christmas all the more fun. Wine is a great gift since it’s traditionally part of celebrating during the holidays. Create a custom wine label for your wine and then make a special wine gift bag for giving it. Included in this post are instructions and templates to make two different wine gift bags with just a few materials. These gift bags are for full size 750 ml wine bottles. They can also be used for Champagne bottles.

Newsprint Snowflake Wine Bag

The newsprint paper used to make the snowflake on the example bag was purchased at a specialty paper store. The name of the paper is Graphic Newsprint. It’s double-sided and comes 3 sheets per package. The sheets ares 21.3″ x 31.5″ and the price was $3.00 per package. If you aren’t able to find this kind of paper and are in a pinch, grab a newspaper and use the stock market pages for a visually interesting pattern. The wine bag was purchased at Cost Plus World Market. You don’t have to use the snowflake template especially if you’re a talented snowflake maker, use your own snowflake creation! This is a project anyone can make and the variations are endless using other mediums besides newsprint.

Snowflake Newsprint Wine Gift Bag Template and Instructions

Kraft Paper Wine Bag Topper

Kraft Paper Wine Bag Topper Template and Instructions

After you cut out the two kraft paper shapes, lay them flat and glue them together matching them at the fold line. Next, cut a slit slightly wider than the width of the handles along the fold crease, to allow it to slip over the wine bag handles. Add a ribbon or tie a hang tag to one of the handles.

Each one of these wine bags takes less than 15 minutes to make. We recommend adding a holiday wine label to your wine or a holiday hang tag to each bag. Some simple ideas for a stunning result.

If you need help with your wine label, hang tag, or wine gift bag please email us at info at bottleyourbrand.com or live chat with us weekdays 9 am to 3 pm Pacific time.

Morning After Mimosa Kits: A How-to-Guide Including Step by Step Photos

February 3, 2016 by Cindy Springer 2 Comments

You’re getting married soon and you’re wondering how to wow your wedding party the day after the ceremony. You know, just a little something to say, “Thank You.” I recommend these simple to assemble “Morning After” Mimosa Kits. A perfect gift for that little pick me up the morning after the celebration. Included in this post are photos and a step-by-step guide to creating these inexpensive, yet gorgeous kits. Gift these to everyone who helped you on your special day. They’ll remember this gesture and trust me, they’ll want to steal “your” idea. Here’s what you’ll need.

STEP 1: Assemble Supplies

Champagne splits (187ML)
Mini Champagne labels
Gable Boxes 8″ x 5″ x 5″
Ribbon of your choice – I used one inch wide American Crafts Premium Ribbon
Orange juice 12 fl. oz. bottle
Washi tape
Wrapping tissue
Disposable Champagne flutes

STEP 2: Design and Order the Mini-Champagne Label

Check your Champagne bottle to figure out the size label that will work. There are two mini champagne label sizes we recommend to fit almost any bottle. These two sizes are a 3″ wide by 2″ high rectangle or a 2 inch circle. To be certain of the size, download our Mini Champagne Label Bottle Guide (also found at the end of the post) to see which label fits popular brands. For this kit we used Cook’s Brut Champagne Split and the custom label is the rectangle shape 3″ wide x 2″ high. To change up one of our templates start here. To create your own from scratch go to this page.

Step 3: Label and Embellish

With labels in hand and shopping for all of the supplies done, it’s time to get started. Either soak off the existing labels on the mini bottles or apply the new labels directly over the old ones depending on which works best. Make sure the bottle surface is clean, dry and at room temperature. Cut a length of ribbon about 18″ long and tie a bow on the neck of each bottle. Trim the ribbon ends with scissors.

Using Washi tape of your choice, wrap the stem and the top of the flute below the lipstick line.

Step 4: Assemble the Mimosa Kit

First, line the gable box with multi layers of wrapping tissue; certainly enough to prevent the bottle from breaking. Fill starting with the the heaviest items first. Start with the orange juice, then the Champagne split and last, the Champagne flute(s).

Step 5: Decorate the Gable Box

Using the Washi tape add several horizontal stripes around the box. Use two complementing ribbon patterns to give it a little pop; it’s easy to do. The decorative tape takes the box from plain to pretty with very little effort. Finish by placing the label over the decorative tape in the center of the box. Tie a bow to the handle with the ribbon you used for the mini bottles or for a bigger impact use some Tulle. The “Morning After” Mimosa Kit is complete! Pass out these kits the night of your rehearsal dinner with a note to save for the “morning after.” For out-of-town wedding party guests make sure the bellman places one in each hotel room. If you want to go a step further include a bottle of water with your wedding design on it.

Ready to get started? Find the Champagne split you plan on using and download with this handy printable guide.

Let us know how your kit turned out by sharing your photos with us. Email us at [email protected] and we’ll post the results on our social media.

Master The Art Of Personalized Homemade Food Gifts

December 8, 2015 by Cindy Springer Leave a Comment

Just because you’re giving homemade gifts for the holidays doesn’t mean they have to look like it. With the right presentation your food gifts will look like they came straight from a gourmet food shop.

The first step to ensure your gift looks professional is to choose the right packaging. What shows off your gift in the best manner? Is it a clear glass bottle, a decorative tin, a bag or box? Second, measure the area where the label adheres to the packaging to determine the best label size for the container. Third, make your own label with colors, graphics and font styles that portray your homemade food gift in the best manner. And last, but still important, choose a quality label. The material we use for our stickers is waterproof and we print with a commercial press so there’s no mistaking your labels for home-printed, Avery paper labels. Most of us make a dozen or so food gifts from our home kitchen so you’ll appreciate our low minimum order quantities; as little as 6 to 12 labels depending on the product. Our quick turnaround time, two business days, is also a bonus during the holiday season.

Limoncello Gifts

This Limoncello label is two inches in diameter. The bottle with cork was purchased from Michaels craft store and holds 3.1 ounces.

To make the above Limoncello labels search on our site for the circle label “Homemade Limoncello” and personalize the text. To customize this template further than the display example go below the text fields on the product landing page to the Customize More button. This will allow you to change font style, color, and size. It’s easy and addictive! We see customers who make many variations of their design before they select the one they like best. You can do that too by creating an account. Save your designs and when you want to decide on the final artwork log in and go to My Saved Designs within your account. You’ll see your designs there waiting for you.

Homemade Vanilla Gifts

Here’s an example below of a personalized homemade vanilla label. It looks like it came from the local food specialty shop for the simple reason the packaging fits the product and the label looks professional. If you’re making homemade vanilla or any other syrup you’ll find a variety of circle sticker designs on this page. Alternatively you can upload our own design starting here.

The label on this bottle is a 2.5 inch circle sticker customized from one our templates. The bottle with cork was purchased at Michaels craft store for under $2.

Jam & Jelly Gifts

If you’re into canning or making jams and jellies as gifts for Christmas, part of the fun is preparing the jars for gifting. We like this simple gift presentation idea; a custom canning label plus some Washi tape create a gift that anyone would be proud to give. Washi tape is a very pretty decorative masking tape. It’s used in a variety of craft projects, but we like it for decorating the rims of Ball® lids and the necks of bottles, like wine, beer or soda.

These jars are Ball® 4 ounce jelly jars. They’re sold in quantities of 12 and for your reference Wal-Mart sells them for $15.55. The circle stickers are two inches in diameter. The sticker is called “Celebrate the Season.” This design is also offered as a neck collar label, beer and wine label.

Cookie Mix Gifts

For a fabulous presentation of your cookie jar mix add a custom sticker of your own design. These cookie recipe mixes are a fun gift for kids and bakers alike. TIP: For larger Ball® jars like the ones pictured below use a 2.5 inch sticker. The smaller jars like the jam jars above, use a two inch sticker.

The cookie mix jars are Ball® 32oz Regular Mouth Mason Jars. These jars are sold in flats of 12 and you’ll find they run about $12.99. I’ve included a recipe below in case you’d like to make these fun gifts this season.

Homemade Wine Gifts

You spent months researching and hours working on your latest homemade wine. Why would you settle for anything less than the best when it comes time to labeling it for gifts? Your pride in the finished product will be evident when you present bottles with labels like the ones below. Your friends will be secretly jealous when they see the finished product. Even small batches of wine warrant good looking wine labels. One of the best things about ordering from us is you can order as little as six wine labels.

These bottles are 750ML burgundy wine bottles labeled with our standard wine label, size 3.5 inches wide by 4 inches high, and our neck label from the template Joyful Christmas.

Homemade Beer Gifts

The home brewers we’ve come to know and love are a creative bunch. They like to make their own beer label artwork, like this label and neck collar order below. Looks like it came from your favorite micro brewery doesn’t it? Well guess what? This is a design created by a home brewer. If you don’t have a creative bone in your body, then surf over to our beer label templates and simply modify one our designs. It’s as easy as typing in your own words.

Other Homemade Gift Ideas

Homemade gifts are not limited to the ones in this post. Our customers make labels and stickers for Coquito, Kahlua, Absinthe, Whisky, Cordials, Syrups, Bath Soaps, Hot Sauce and more. Should you need help figuring out the label to fit your packaging you can always live chat with us weekdays from 9 am to 4 pm Pacific time on www.bottleyourbrand.com.

Make Your Own Holiday Wine Labels, Because it’s Ridiculously Easy

October 2, 2015 by Cindy Springer 2 Comments

Considering making your own holiday wine labels but not sure where to start? Making a holiday wine label is not complex so don’t be intimidated. In this post we’ll discover what it takes to put together your DIY wine label. This is the place to start if you have questions about the process.

Holiday wine labels are one of our favorites here at BYB, we especially enjoy seeing your custom designs as they come through the order queue. From silly cartoon Santas to precious family photos, we’ve seen it all.

How to Make a Holiday Wine Label

Step 1: Pick a Holiday.

We have pre-made designs for all the standard U.S. holidays and you can even make up a holiday like Festivus for the Restofus, anything is possible with our online designer.

Step 2: Decide on a theme.

Do you want Santa, Reindeer, Leprechauns, Pumpkins, Snowflakes, Zombies, Christmas Trees, a Nativity Scene, the U.S. flag, fireworks, even your dog’s photo on your label? Any and all of these you can do.

Step 3: Get any clip art, photos or artwork files ready.

Even if you’re not starting from scratch and instead using one of our holiday templates you still might like to upload a photo or clip art to complete your design. To get your file ready make sure you do the following:

Do a resolution check and make sure that it’s 300 dpi resolution. Why 300 dpi? Because that’s the resolution that prints clearly. If you’re not sure how to do this then email the file to us as an attachment and ask us to check it for you. We’ll open it in a graphics program and let you know promptly if it will print clearly or not. We can also make suggestions as to how to make your file look better if it’s not the right resolution.
Name the file so you remember it.
Save it in a handy place like your desktop so you can find it when you’re ready to add it to the label.

Step 4: Decide if you want to make your own design or modify one of our pre-made designs.

Creating your own label art can be addicting so watch out, but for expediency editing one of the available label templates we offer is pretty darn fast. Both options are available.

Step 5: Design your label.

To start from scratch, making your own design go to this page.

When starting from scratch the first page you see after clicking the link above will have a drop down quantity selector. Next click the orange Customize It button below the quantity. Now you’re in the design studio with a blank label in front of you. Are you ready to get started? On the left are tools to Add Text, Add Image, Shapes, Clip Art, Background Color and more. The designer is like a simplified version of PhotoShop. As you design, each piece you add becomes a layer; such as a layer of text, images, shapes and color. There are hundreds of fonts to choose from and not only that, you can change the font color and size using the Text Options tool. Be sure to create an account to save your designs as you make them. That way you can go back into your account and tweak them or show them to others for input.

An artwork file made in a graphics program can be uploaded into the designer as well. Make sure to convert the file to JPG or PNG format to upload it. Also check the color profile. If you’ve made it in CMYK you’ll have to convert it to RGB to upload. If color is an issue, email us your CMYK file and we’ll print from that. Simply reference your order number and attach your file.

When you’re done designing Add to Cart to order.

To modify a pre-made design go to this page.

If you’re editing one of our designs we have almost 400 holiday designs to choose from for holidays such as Halloween, Christmas, 4th of July, St. Patrick’s Day, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Valentines’ Day and more. Choose the category of your holiday of choice from the list on your left on the template page. Click on the design you like. Now you’re on what’s called the design landing page. Choose a quantity and note there are text fields to edit the text. That’s an easy way to change the label to your liking. However, if you want to add more to the design go below the quantity drop down and click the orange Customize It button. Now the design will appear in the online designer. Here you can do so much more than edit the text. You can add a photo, a shape, clip art, change color on the background, change the font style. So much you can do with the design that it’s truly a custom label when you’re finished with it. As with making a design from scratch, you’ll want to create an account to save your designs. You can save as many as you like for free and pick the version you like best to order.

Common Questions About Making Wine Labels

What size is the BYB wine label template?

Our template is 3.5 inches wide by 4 inches high.

Can I make another size wine label?

Absolutely! We have other sizes available in the Make Your Own section of the website.

What other wine label sizes can I make?

For square labels we have 3 x 3, 4 x 4, and 5 x 5. For rectangles we have 2 x 3, 3 x 2, 2 x 4, 4 x 2, 3 x 4, 4 x 3, 4 x 6, 6 x 4. The first number is the width, the second number is the height. You can also use the size we call our beer label, which is 4 wide by 3.5 high.

What size is a mini wine label?

We recommend 2 wide by 3 high, 3 high x 2 wide or 3 x 3. It depends on the mini bottle you’ve chosen so please measure it first before you make your own mini wine label. Some customers use our water bottle labels on mini bottles such as the 8.4 fl. oz. (250 ml)Martinelli’s Sparkling Cider. This works too, but please allow for an inch or so overlap.

How do the labels stick? Do I need some special glue?

No glue needed! The labels are self adhesive.

Can I put these in ice or in the refrigerator?

Yes! Our labels are waterproof and colorfast.