This is probably pretty irrelevant to most all of you, but…
I’ve been a label collector from the very start… when my major professor (about 1968) suggested to me I soak off the labels of wines I liked so I could remember then. I’ve never forgiven Ken for that.
I have probably well over 100,000 labels, though recently they are not well curated. I know… I’ve been looking for a good 12-step program!!
Used to be they all had water-soluble glue and fell right off with a brief soak in water. But adhesive technology advanced. I give them a soak and then use a single-edge razor blade in a holder to peel them off. I can usually tell by feeling the label if it’ll come off. Probably lose only about 1 in 25 labels. The Italian labels seem to be the worst.
Over the last year, I’ve noted there’s been a change in adhesive technology. First noted it on the Ridge and DryCreekVnyd labels. Now I’m seeing it on more wineries. You use the razor to peel up the edge, then firmly grasp the label and pull hard. The label separates from the adhesive that sticks to the btl, and then you just pull the label right on off. Sometimes the label is printed on a foil backing, but not always.
But, anyway, it’s a technological advance that I very much approve of.
For those of you that have questioned the weirdness of TomHill, this should be the final nail in that coffin.
Tom
ive noticed tha change in adhesive too, but for the exact opposite reason. I heat the bottles in the oven @210F for about 15 mins and the new adhesives peel off really easily, while old ones almost inevitably fail to come off this way. guess I should soak the old ones.
Tom- Glad to see someone else old enough to remember when all labels soaked off. I remember the tech shift. I stopped saving labels. Couldn’t be bothered with razors.
Before or after you uncork the bottle?
I used to save labels. Ended up making a few poster boards and gave a bunch to a friend who finished a coffee table with them, under a clear epoxy finish. I recall some labels came off easily with a soak in water, some after boiling in water, and then there were some with this awful gummy adhesive that required significant care and the razor as Tom mentions, but even then, a lot of residual glue remained on the label which made it nigh impossible to fully flatten them out, let alone store them; they stuck to everything it seemed. I finally gave up.
I thought you would have used your Jedi-like epee skills for this, Tom?
I tried to be good about this when I started with wine and as John alluded to it becomes a chore. I’d guess wrong on approaching the bottle; become more like a roulette of oven or soaking. My wife got me a label remover kit that seemed more like a Brazilian wax for a bottle. That didn’t work consistently. Things would inevitably go south more than I succeeded. Gave it up. A reflection of the technology growing more advanced and varied by producer.
That all said, I’m impressed you amassed a 100 K plus. Your patience and skill has gotta be considered remarkable.
What do you do for stenciled bottles? 
When I saw the title of the thread I thought “that’s a terrible name for a winery.”
Very interesting development. Oddly, I pulled the label off a jar of salsa last night and it behaved just like this. Bully!
before… why do you ask?
totally unrelated: I don’t get why this board likes ANY of the wines y’all constantly talk about.
Matt-based on your avatar, we probably have more in common than you think. Not sure who or what you are referring to as “wines y’all constantly talk about” but it is likely I drink and like more wines [in common with you] than you would think from my posts. I don’t, imo, post that much about wines I like. I try to post only on up and newcomers and not the standard bearers. I never intend to go in the same direction that I have seen others go-the exclusivist elitist insular you-need-to-know-the-inside-jokes group. I am ashamed to say I once tried to join that group. Fifteen, twenty years ago. They would not have me as a member.
Sorry, it was a joke harkening back to the sticking the wine in the oven with the wine still in it thing.
I definitely agree with you, I think we drink significantly more of the same wine than different! haha
The wine label printers are our customers so I have no comment. LOL
BTW wine labels are one of the most complex packaging labels. Very high quality requiring high tech printing systems.
Only surpassed by packaging for diapers and baby formula which have to be exact and high-quality
I think we still have wine label removal thingys. Extremely strong clear adhesive label removers. Put em on and rip that sucker off and mount it in your wine book. It only takes the top of the label and can leave a white square on the bottle. Unfortunately, if you get a bubble in it putting it on the label for removal, what’s under the bubble stays on the bottle.