# Removing Wine Labels



## rrs26ja (Feb 23, 2009)

Well, my wife and I are about to bottle our first batch of wine. We have 2 1/2 cases of bottles that we have saved. Last night we decided to sit down and start removing the labels. OMG what a pain. We tried soaking them in Hot water with a couple of drops of liquid soap. One label came right off the others are on there. Then I decided to use a razor blade scrapper and removed about 15 labels with this method. This took a couple of hours. 


Do any of you have a method to remove the old wine lables? Maybe it would have been less painful to purchse new bottles.


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## BikerShannon (Feb 23, 2009)

I just did the same thing last week. I put them in the sink with super hot, almost boiling water and let them soak. When it cooled enough that I could get my hands with rubber gloves on in it, I used a plastic scraper on the labels and they came right off. I used a scotch brite scrubber to get the glue remnants off. I bottled my first kit yesterday, and I can't wait for the next 2 kits to be done! Have fun, and post pics!


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## grapeman (Feb 23, 2009)

This has been covered many many times before so if you want a flood of information on it, use the search button on the top of the page.Use AnyDate to expand the results and type in something like label removal. Normally we try to give answers to every question, but it will give you more choices quicker with the search feature. Here is one result for you. 


http://www.finevinewines.com//Wiz/forum/search_results_posts.asp?SearchID=20090223111720&amp;KW=remove+label


P.S. I use warm water and oxy-clean and let them soak a half hour minimum. Some fall off, others use a single edge razor blade and scrape sideways, not up and down. Then I finish up with a steel scrubbie. If none of those work- I pitch the bottle. You can try goo-gone, but I don't think it is worth the trouble.


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## rrs26ja (Feb 23, 2009)

Appleman,


I did use the search routine but nothing really came up for removing labels. As I said in my post I tried the soak in hot water. I have used the scrapper onthem yet. After scrapping the dry labels, I use Goo Be gone to remove the glues, works good. I will try to scrape the saoked labels tonight.


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## grapeman (Feb 23, 2009)

Try the link above again. If it doesn't work now for you just use the search button. Enter *remove label* for search for, use All topics and all dates(or Any dates). That should bring up a lot.


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## joeswine (Feb 23, 2009)

well how i do it is first by planning ,,i take 24 bottles or so and i have a 15 gallon plastic bin ,you know the hard storage kind, place water in the container rinse the bottles out first then weight them down with water and let them Set a couple of weeks in the water sometimes with Little bleach also ,,when its time to remove i allow one hour at a sitting and start to peel, with wa plastic scraper and finish with scoch brite pad or like sponge and cleanser for the slightly stubern glue streaks after one hour i stop till the next time, mean while the bottles sit until i,am ready,,i control the work the work doesn,t control me ................this also works well when you have a hundred or so cases of empties ready to use..........


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## Rocky_Top (Feb 23, 2009)

My answer would be the same as Joeswine's. I have plenty of bottles that are clean so I am lazy getting the label off. I tend to age the bottles in water longer than some age their wine.




Having a big plastic container set off to the side helps. Every Saturday I look in my wine book to see witch wines need to be racked ect. If there is nothing to do I remove labels then fill the tub back up with bottles.


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## Fly*guy (Feb 23, 2009)

Hey fellow wine makers....
We had decent success with the goo-gone, BUT.... ya need to work with it outside or in a well ventilated place, _very_ nasty smell with it. SO if you live in colder climates you better try something else or save those bad puppies till a warmer time of the year.





I got all my bottles clean without having to pitch any of them.... except 2 of the buggers!

These beautiful bottles (Blue Burgundy style) have some type of an echted painted type of a label..... any ideas for those? 
Waters not the answer, Goo-gone won't work, Scraping does absolutely nothing..... thinkin of slapping a bigger label on them and just using them that way... to pretty to just pitch.

Matter of fact here it is, just bottled these the other day and labeled tonight.




Look at bottle on the right front... *Goose Watch Winery* from finger lakes region NY,(Seneca Lake - N of Watkins Glen,NY).


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## grapeman (Feb 23, 2009)

I keep those for myself. I don't care if they have a different label on them. I mark them with what I put in them and enjoy the nice bottle on the rack. I enjoy having a bottle from Goose Watch now and then.


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## NorthernWinos (Feb 24, 2009)

Nice bottles of wine...labels look good too.

As for those painted bottles...wish someone would figure out how to get the paint off.....But can use them like Appleman if you run short.


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## mjdtexan (Feb 24, 2009)

Ah, I am soaking bottles right now. I noticed that all glue is equal. Lindeman wine labels seem to be a little more work.


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## joeswine (Feb 24, 2009)

I,ll tell you what else works time ,yes time if theres some place out side you can store the bottles and leave them to the elements let them help you if you plan ahead the rain and heat or cold have their effects on the labels and then when you soak them there not so much like work ,,don,t make it a chore take it in stride and plan if you can,let mother nature help she can.................just another trick


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## Grumpy (Feb 24, 2009)

Pardon the interuption but i just saw this ad on craigs list Austin 1250 new still in box wine bottles for 100$ if anyone is in that area might want to check it out


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## Wade E (Feb 24, 2009)

That is a good deal!


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## Wade E (Feb 24, 2009)

I do 45 at a clip and use my bathtub. I fill each one with hot water while the tub is filling with hot water so they all sink. I also add about 1/2 cup of Oxi-clean(Walmart Sun brand) and let them sit for about 4 hours with the doors closed to keep the heat in there. Most of them at that point are floating and the rest will come off very easy with a swipe of the razor across the bottle. 45 fills my tub and that is the size of my bottle tree also to let them drip dry.


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## imported_irishtom (Feb 24, 2009)

Nice. But it doesn't leave much room for the kids Wade.
I bet I could fit twice that in my wife's spa. And if I turned on the jets I could strip the labels in about 15 minutes. 
I think I'll wait until she goes shopping though.


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## Wade E (Feb 24, 2009)

I got rid of my spa last year, its was the second 1 I had and each time i had it for 2 years with everyday use when first got it then it very slowly tapered off. Then it was just a heating bill and waste of chems, miss it so much when im sick though.


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## uavwmn (Feb 25, 2009)

rrs, I use a paint scraper that has a razor blade attached to it. Labels come off easy.
Then to get the glue off I spray a little WD-40 on the glue, wait a couple of minutes and then wipe off with a paper towel.


For me this is a relaxing ritual.


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## uavwmn (Feb 25, 2009)

Wade, I would NEVER part with my spa!!!!!


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## mjdtexan (Feb 25, 2009)

uavwmn said:


> rrs, I use a paint scraper that has a razor blade attached to it. Labels come off easy.
> Then to get the glue off I spray a little WD-40 on the glue, wait a couple of minutes and then wipe off with a paper towel.
> 
> 
> For me this is a relaxing ritual.




The WD-40 (liquid wrench really) deal worked out great. Thanks All. Waiting on the UPS truck to pull in driveway today.


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## NorthernWinos (Feb 25, 2009)

I don't mind cleaning bottles [not yours tho]
To me it is part of the winemaking process...and, usually means bottling day is near.

I use very hot water in the laundry tub...
Soak awhile...
While the glue is still hot use the razor blade paint scraper...
Scrape sideways [not up and down] Try to get under the glue...
Store up-side-down in box.


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## rrussell (Feb 25, 2009)

I soak mine in hot water which enables me to take off the label. then for any glue residue I spray on a product called pure citrus air freshener that you can get at Home Depot. The glue wipes right off with a paper towel. smells good too!


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## joeswine (Feb 25, 2009)

see we all get there is,t just a matter of how


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## Boyd (Feb 26, 2009)

Have you tried filling them with water and soaking in acetone overnite.

For stubbon labels I use either acetone or alcohol.

Cheap by the gallon at Menards, Home Depot, or Lowes.


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## uavwmn (Feb 27, 2009)

Boyd, I spray WD-40 on mine to get the glue off. Works like a charm.


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## mjdtexan (Feb 27, 2009)

uavwmn said:


> Boyd, I spray WD-40 on mine to get the glue off. Works like a charm.


 That workedgood a couple of days ago, I now have fifty more bottles to do today. I wonder if spraying them with WD-40 before you even peel the labels off would work, that way you could skip a step.


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## uavwmn (Feb 27, 2009)

tez, you could try, but I am thinking it wouldn't get to the glue. Let me know how it works.


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## Boyd (Feb 27, 2009)

Seems to me Wd 40 WOULD LEAVE AN OIL RESIDUE ON THE BOTTLE. EXPENSIVE ALSO COMPARED TO A GALLON OF THE OTHER.


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## uavwmn (Feb 27, 2009)

Just one spray, wait a couple of minutes, then wipe off with a paper towel.


I always clean and sanitize the bottles and have never had a filmy residue.


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## Wayne1 (Feb 27, 2009)

Wal-Mart sells a "generic" WD-40 right next to the real thing for a much smaller price - I got one and, so far, haven't been able to tell a difference


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## fivebk (Mar 12, 2009)

I use a cup or a little more of sudsy ammonia cleaner in a dishpan filled with hot water, soak for a little while and labels come right off. Some fall off others just kind of melt away when rubbed with a butter knife. the left over glue will come right off with a scrub brush


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