We decided to customize our wine labels for two reasons. 1) Like many couples, we wanted our wedding to be an expression of who we are 2) We were on a tight budget and could not afford super expensive wine. We bought a few cases of 2-buck chuck from Trader Joes and added our own labels.
I looked and looked online for instructions for removing wine labels and tended to find posts for removing label after drinking the wine, which entailed using hot water. Using cold soapy water, we got the labels off without ruining the wine.
Step 1: Soak wine bottles in cold soapy water in a bucket or sink for several hours. Make sure that the labels are thoroughly water-logged and the glue is gooey. I soaked the labels overnight.
After a good, long soak, the top part of the label falls off in the water.
Step 2: At this point, I simply scraped the soaking label off with my fingernails or finger tips. The label will be quite soft and gooey. I found that if I used a sponge too soon, my sponge would become clogged with pulp and lose its efficacy.
Step 3: Use an old sponge to remove the rest of the label.
Final Step: Once the label is removed, rinse the bottle in cool water to remove soapy residue. Dry with a towel and return to wine boxes or set aside. Your bottles are now ready for your custom labels.
