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When making a label for country fruit wine....

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TasunkaWitko

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Should the label reflect the year it was picked, the year it was made, or the year it was bottled?

Crazy as it may sound, these are all different years for a couple of the wines I am just finishing up.
 
Interesting question. Others may argue differently but with country wines - fruits, flowers, vegetables, spices) there is really not much sense of "vintage" . I don't think you hear: "Cranberries picked in 1986 were superlative but elderflowers harvested in 2001 are priceless!" The raw materials for most country wines are for all intents and purposes, commodities - There may be a huge difference between this variety of apple and that variety and there may be some differences in the water/sugar content from year to year but nothing that approaches the idea of "vintage". Indeed, I would argue that with most crops at best the grower is looking for is consistency and at worst is looking for an extended shelf life and not flavor, so I would argue that the year you bottled the wine is critical - for you (it informs you how long the wine has aged) . Personally, I put both the date I pitch the yeast and the date I bottle the wine because the length of time between those two dates provide me with some valuable additional information.
 
Interesting to see someone else wondering about this - I put both the date I added the yeast and the date the wine was bottled onto the label, and also the batch number.

How do you label your wines? I've been looking for a solution that is inexpensive and doesn't leave a gummy mess all over the bottles. I don't have a printer at home, and Staples here refuses to print labels (even the ones they sell). I don't like the look of that much handwriting, so I'm experimenting with rubber stamps and got a stamp pad for all those dates lol.
 
Good morning, everyone, and thanks for the insight. For now, I went with the year that I pitched the yeast; but Bernard's logic makes sense, and in the future I intend to simply use the year I bottled it.

Mallerstang - glue sticks (in conjunction with plain, ol' printer paper) are my best friend, when it comes to labels!
 
glue sticks (in conjunction with plain, ol' printer paper) are my best friend, when it comes to labels!

Exactly what I use too and typically I print labels as text (no images) and in B&W. Not trying to market my wines and meads but to inform me and those with whom I share my bottles.
 
My label reflects the year I started fermentation. I have found that my muscadine wine tastes much better two years after fermentation.
 

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