How to remove labels etc,

[TheEngineer]

Newbie question. I've had only limited success at this and I'm pretty sure that I'm not doing it right.

What is the best way to remove labels from the bottle (also dependent on paper stock?).

Also is it strange to ask restaurants to do this for you if you come across a nice bottle that you had a good experience with and want to keep the label?

Thanks in advance

[chittychattykathy]

Try soaking the label in vinegar.

[Thomas]

Self-adheive labels are nearly impossible to remove in one piece. Most others should be removable in water. But I fear New World wineries are using glues and stocks that are increasingly harder to remove--kind of like trying to open a package of anything these days; can't be done without proper equipment.

[joeyz6]

At a restaurant where I used to work, we would fill the inside of the bottle with very hot water. Often, this would melt some or all of the glue, allowing us to peel the label off with a pretty good success rate. If this isn't working, you can also try soaking the entire bottle in a hot-water bath (and having it filled with hot water).

As for your second question, if you want the label, it's quite acceptable to ask politely to have it removed. If your waiter says no, then you're not receiving acceptable service. However, you should be prepared for two possibilities: (1) that the waiter won't have time at that particular moment, and you have to wait a little while, and (2) that the waiter could be unsuccessful in his/her attempt, and tear the label.

[hotwine]

I've been keeping labels for only the past year or so, as a way to jog my fading memory of what to look for when visiting wine shops. I simply allow hot water to flow over the label for a minute or so, then lay a small sheet of clear contact paper over the label (careful not to create air bubbles), and peel off the label by curling up one corner of the contact paper and gently tugging the label off. Success rate is about 80%.... which is a lot better than not trying at all. The label then gets stuck onto a tasting note page in the cellar book. I should keep notes on the same page, but don't... just post them here and into the database (currently Cellar Savant).

[Kcwhippet]

Had a lady in the shop last week used her picture phone to take a snap of the label on a wine bottle in a restaurant. Doesn't save the label, but it's a neat way to get all the info to find the same wine again.

[TheEngineer]

Thanks for the choices that I now have. I was doing the hot water in the bottle and then submerging it so that the glue would soften up. But there is so much differences in the paper stock used now that sometimes I come back and the label has melted into a mush...

I use to be a film guy and then converted to digital photos. Having the label is a more tactile experience...but I guess having a photo is better than none at all.

Many thanks for all of your help.

[Drew]

I was watching a show "Party Planner" with David Tutera this morning with the subject of a wine and cheese party. He suggested smearing peanut butter on the label on the bottle and let sit overnight and that the peanut butter would loosen the adhesive and the label would easily peal off. Simply clean off the peanut butter and use the label as a party design accessory. I've got to try this...sounds so impossible.

DRew

[TheEngineer]

Peanut butter....I think I'm gonna have to jsut try it to try it.

I think I've got it down well now.

glue stock like bordeaux: hot water inside bottle

E.Guigal and other burgundies, hot water on the exterior of the bottle (submerge).

[winoweenie]

Drewskie sounds like a waste of one of natures perfect foods.WW [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img]