Does anyone have a good method of getting wine labels off intact? I’d like to collect some of the special bottles/birth year bottle labels to frame.
I’ve tried the method of pouring boiling water into the bottle a couple times to heat the glue up and then razor off with some success. But some of the older bottles the glue doesn’t seem to budge or the labels are pretty fragile.
Just curious if anyone has a reliable way.
The modern labels that don’t soak off anymore usually come off if you put them in the oven for 10 minutes or so.
But you can always do what most of us do these days and just Instagram it.
From my experience the glue used, at least in France, changed in the 1980s. Prior to that it was animal based and soluble in hot water. Since then synthetic glues have been used and it is far more hit and miss.
There used to be a product (maybe still is) called label off. Its a giant piece of tape that you stick to the label, and then it pulls it off when you remove it. Not 100%, but it worked well. Even if it only get’s say 90%, you can still see the label and use it for whatever you like.
Still exists; sold through IWA Wine. Not a bad product at all. Expensive way to preserve labels and not that effective with glossy labels.
I tried asking a professional:
Federal Bureau of Prisons
Kurniawan, Rudy
62470-112
Post Office Box 474701
Des Moines, Iowa 50947-0001
Turns out he was released on 11/06/2020
Yeah, the other option that crossed my mind was just taking pictures of the labels or finding pictures of them and printing them off.
Had a feeling this would find its way onto this thread eventually…
I have successfully removed labels off jars by soaking the label with food oil. Labels came clean off, but not sure you wanna try that though since my goal was the clean jar free from any glue residue, not the label itself.
While not always successful, I have pretty good luck using a 1-2 combination of the label sticker/remover (I use the Oenophilia brand from Amazon) and hot water. I can usually tell when I begin to remove from one of the corners what method I will need to try. Often if the label is paper, the sticker works pretty consistently on its own. Other times if there is any sort of gloss on the label, or if the paper just isn’t easily coming off, I fill the bottle with hot tap water and that seems to soften the glue enough that the sticker takes the label, adhesive and all off. In these situations I usually use an X-Acto knife to slide down the edge of the label under the adhesive to start the removal. This isn’t 100%, but I bet my success rate is maybe 75%ish. Often times I get the label fully intact, other times you may miss small pieces which is still okay if it’s not the lettering or graphic. For truly special bottles, I’ve just saved the bottle. I should also add, no idea if it’s needed, but after putting the label on I usually leave it for a day. I’ve also discovered that certain wines have really stubborn labels to remove, Produttori for example, etc.