Bottle and wine labels: sizes, paper and what to print

A bottle label has to look good, be easy to read and survive an ice bucket. Here's what to settle before you print.

Sizes

Start from the straight section of the bottle, between the shoulder and the base. Measure its height and its diameter. The circumference is roughly diameter x 3.14, so a 75 cl Bordeaux bottle about 7.5 cm across measures about 23.5 cm round.

As a rough guide:

• 75 cl wine: a front label often 90–110 mm wide and 100–130 mm tall, plus a smaller back label;
• 330 ml beer: a label about 70–90 mm tall;
• wraparound label: the circumference minus 3–5 mm, so the ends don't overlap.

A label that's too wide for a slim bottle is hard to read, because you only see a third of it at a time.

Paper

• Wet-strength paper: a must for white, rosé and sparkling wine that ends up in an ice bucket.
• Textured papers (laid, hammered, cotton finish): for a premium look, often with hot-foil or embossing.
• Polypropylene (PP): for beer, juices and bottles kept in the fridge. Clear PP gives the "no-label look" on clear glass.

What to print

For a personalised bottle (wedding, birthday, gift), anything goes. For wine you sell, labelling is tightly regulated. It covers things like the product name, alcohol strength, volume, origin, bottler, a sulphites warning and the lot number. Rules differ between the UK and the EU. In the EU, for example, the energy value has been required on the label since December 2023. Check your design with your trade body or Trading Standards before printing.

By hand or by machine

Any roll works for labelling by hand. On a labelling machine, the printer needs the core size (often 76 mm) and unwind direction: see label cores and winding.

To get your artwork ready, follow how to design custom labels. Then browse our printed labels or go straight to the quote request.