Custom Wine Labels – Essential Australian Regulations Guide
Business stickers will often include product labels. Custom wine labels are a great way to build a brand and differentiate your wine from the many thousands on the world market.
Even from a local sales point of view the competition is strong and so wine producers need to find custom stickers for labels that give them an edge and uphold the message of the company.
Professional design is a must, and the highest quality printing is essential. The label is often the first point of contact potential buyers will have with your product and it has to impress and gain interest amongst the many wines around it.
Mandatory Requirements for Australian Wine Labels
- Name of the wine – Naming the wine is mandatory. But naming the varietal is not. You may call it a generic name like Dry Red, or Fruity White, but you don’t have to use the variety of grapes used e.g Cabernet, Chardonnay. You may wish to if this is a branding point or you wish to be known for that particular variety under your brand.
- Volume – You must state the size of the bottle, e.g. 750ml
- Alcohol Content – i.e. 12% ALC/VOL
- Standard Drinks – include the standard drinks as per alcohol volume. E.g. Approx 7.4 standard drinks
- Allergens – If allergens are present or there is a possibility of a reaction, it must be declared
- Name and Address of the responsible business entity including full street address and not just a postal address or box
- Country of origin
Optional Wine Label Additions
These are not compulsory but may add to the user experience or assist in your branding:
- Name of Winery/Trademark/Brand name
- Variety of grapes used
- Geographical Indication – the region or subregion that the grapes are grown in. Check into the regulations for the requirements as far as restricted names you can use and what guidelines you need to follow to name a wine correctly. For example sparkling wines made by the same process and grape as Champagne cannot be called Champagne. Only wines grown and produced in Champagne, France can use this regional name.
- Vintage – The year the grapes were harvested. This can be a great selling point for wines that are known to age well or those that are best to drink early.
Popular and Effective
Custom wine labels that are carefully designed to appeal to the market and convey a message about the business personality and point of difference are growing in popularity daily.
With the onset of boutique wines growing to service a larger area and even carve out a solid export niche for themselves, customising labels is major part of producing a successful wine brand.
Major wine producing companies are always looking for a competitive edge and a point of difference. Their labels are distinctive and memorable. They also have a quality consistency the buyers trust.
If you display this by using professional printing services, and back it up with consistent product that over-delivers on the promise you will always have repeat and new customers.
Building On a Brand Image
Your wine labels will probably be one of the very first opportunities you have to think about effective usage of logo and branding. It is certainly the most cost effective way of getting your brand out to a wider audience.
Once you have settled on a design and a point of difference keep it consistent across all printed promotional materials. Cellar door sales can utilise posters and counter displays. Think about how your brand and wines might be displayed in other sales venues as well.
Give the sellers an advantage by having everything streamlined and ready to go. You’ll find they will recommend your wines more often.
Your business brand and identity hinges on the design and print quality of your wine labels, business cards, brochures and any other methods for advertising your business. Do whatever it takes to get the best quality and design a label with a message. Make it easy for people to remember the name or recognise the style of the custom wine label even if they can’t recall the name.
