How long does it take?

The free check is answered within 24 business hours. A full back label with its e-label usually takes a few working days once we have your analysis values and your list of countries.

What do you need from me?

Your current label (photo or PDF), the analysis values of the vintage (alcohol, residual sugar, total acidity), the oenological practices and additives used, the fining agents, and the countries where you sell.

Who checks the label?

A labelling specialist reviews every back label and e-label against the texts listed on our method page before printing. You approve the final proof. Nothing is printed without your written approval.

Do I need a different back label for each country?

Not always. One label can serve several countries if it carries the allergen wording in each language and the e-label offers each language. We tell you which combination costs the least.

What must be on the back of a wine bottle?

Usually the allergens, the energy value, the QR code with the word “ingredients”, the bottler, the provenance and the lot, plus any national mention. Alcohol and volume can be on the back if they share the field of vision with the name of the wine.

Is a back label mandatory on a wine bottle?

No. The law requires the particulars, not a second label. If they all fit legibly on one label, you can do without a back label. Most wineries cannot fit them on the front since the ingredients and energy rules.

EU-Compliant Wine Back Labels, Checked Before Print

Every mention, with the text that requires it

Example, not a real wine

Exemplum Red

Red wine · Protected Designation of Origin1

13.5 % vol2750 ml

Contains sulphites3

E (100 ml) = 312 kJ / 75 kcal4

Ingredients and nutrition5

Bottled by Example Winery, 00000 Village, Italy · Product of Italy6

L 117

1
Category of the product and PDO/PGI term
Reg. (EU) 1308/2013, art. 119(1)(a)-(b)
2
Actual alcoholic strength
Reg. (EU) 1308/2013, art. 119(1)(c)
3
Allergens printed on the label, never only behind the QR
Reg. (EU) 1169/2011, art. 21 and annex II
4
Energy value printed (symbol E allowed)
Reg. (EU) 1308/2013, art. 119(4), as amended by 2021/2117
5
QR code to the full ingredients list and nutrition declaration
Reg. (EU) 2021/2117 and Del. Reg. (EU) 2023/1606
6
Bottler and provenance
Reg. (EU) 1308/2013, art. 119(1)(d)-(e)

Each number points to the text that requires the mention.

What must be on a wine back label in the EU?

The product category, the PDO or PGI term where relevant, the actual alcoholic strength, the nominal volume, the provenance, the bottler, the lot, the allergens, the energy value and access to the ingredients list and nutrition declaration (Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, art. 119). Some may sit on the front label instead.

The EU does not use the words “front” and “back” label. It only asks for the particulars to be on the container, legible and, for some of them, readable together. Most wineries keep the name, the designation and the vintage on the front, and put everything else on the back. That is why the back label carries most of the legal weight.

The minimum x-height of the characters is 1.2 mm, or 0.9 mm when the largest surface of the bottle is under 80 cm² (Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, art. 13). The alcoholic strength and the nominal volume have their own minimum heights, set by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/33 and the prepackaging rules. Our label size guide gives the figures.

Since Regulation (EU) 2021/2117, the ingredients list and the nutrition declaration apply to wines produced from 8 December 2023. Most wineries print the energy value and the allergens, and move the rest behind a QR code with the word “ingredients” next to it.

What do we put on your back label?

Everything the texts require that is not already on your front label, laid out so that it stays legible at the legal size. The table shows a typical split for a still red wine with a PDO, sold in two countries.

What do we put on your back label?
Mention	Where we usually place it	Text that requires it
Name, PDO term, vintage	Front label	1308/2013, art. 119 and 120
Alcohol (% vol) and volume (ml)	Front or back, same field of vision as the name	1308/2013, art. 119; 2019/33
Allergens (“contains sulphites”) in each language	Back label	1169/2011, art. 21 and annex II
Energy value, e.g. E (100 ml) = 312 kJ / 75 kcal	Back label	1308/2013, art. 119(4) as amended
QR code + the word “ingredients”	Back label	2021/2117; 2023/1606
Bottler, provenance, importer for imported wines	Back label	1308/2013, art. 119(1)(d)-(f)
Lot number	Back label or glass	Directive 2011/91/EU
National mentions (e.g. pregnancy pictogram in France)	Back label	National law of the country of sale

Why does a back label need checking before printing?

Because errors cost the most once printed. In a French consumer survey, about one wine QR code in five led to an error or an incomplete page (CLCV, September 2025). In November 2023, a late clarification on the word “ingredients” forced wineries across Europe to reprint labels.

A printer prints what it receives. A designer places what he is given. A free e-label tool publishes the data you type. None of them reads the whole label against the regulation of each country where your wine will be sold. Our check does exactly that, and lists the source of each mention so you can verify it yourself.

The usual mistakes we see are small and avoidable: “contains sulfites” only in English on a wine sold in Italy, an energy value calculated on alcohol alone with a sweet wine, a QR code that leads to the shop page of the estate, a lot number missing on the label and not engraved on the glass, an x-height under 1.2 mm on a narrow back label.

What is printed, what goes behind the QR

Mention · On the printed label · Can go behind the QR
Mention	On the printed label	Can go behind the QR
Energy value (kJ / kcal)	Yes	Full table: yes
Allergens (e.g. sulphites)	Yes	No, must stay printed
List of ingredients	Or via QR	Yes
Full nutrition declaration	Or via QR	Yes
Alcohol, volume, category, origin	Yes	No
Marketing, tracking, cookies	—	Never on the e-label page

Under Regulation (EU) 2021/2117, for wines produced from 8 December 2023.

Which language must the back label be written in?

The mandatory particulars must appear in a language easily understood by consumers in the country where the wine is sold (Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, art. 15). Member states can require their own language. In practice, each market needs at least the allergen wording and the e-label page in its language.

Italy: “contiene solfiti”, e-label in Italian. Read more.
Germany and Austria: “enthält Sulfite”, e-label in German. Germany, Austria.
France: “contient des sulfites”, the pregnancy pictogram and, depending on the packaging, sorting information. Read more.
Spain and Portugal: “contiene sulfitos” and “contém sulfitos”, e-label in Spanish or Portuguese. Spain, Portugal.
Several languages on one label are allowed. Terms such as the category or “PDO” stay in the official language of the designation.

Can one back label serve several countries?

Yes, if it carries the allergen wording in each language, any national mention that one of the countries requires, and a QR code leading to an e-label that offers every language. One label for Italy, Austria and Germany is common; adding France usually needs the pregnancy pictogram and more room.

We tell you which combination is the most economical: one multilingual label for all markets, or two versions for very different markets. Fewer versions means fewer print runs and less risk of the wrong roll on the bottling line.

How it works

1
Send your current label
A photo or PDF, plus the countries where you sell. The check is free.
2
We write it, a specialist checks it
Back-label text per country, e-label page, proof to approve. Nothing is printed before you sign off.
3
Printed, hosted, updated
Labels delivered or files for your printer, e-label online, updated at each vintage.

What you receive

Back-label text
Mandatory particulars, allergens and energy value, in the language of each country of sale.
Hosted e-label
A QR page with ingredients and nutrition, without marketing or tracking.
Vintage updates
New analysis, new values: the page is updated, the printed QR keeps working.
Print-ready files
Checked proof in PDF, or labels printed and delivered (on quote).

How the options compare

Public prices noted in November. Each tool does part of the job well; none of them writes and checks the back label for you.

Comparison criteria: Price, Writes the back label, Checked before print, Hosted e-label, Printing.
Option	Price	Writes the back label	Checked before print	Hosted e-label	Printing
E-label platforms (U-Label by Scantrust)	€230 to €1,500 / year	No, you enter the data	No	Yes	No
e-label.eu	Free (3 labels) to €130 / year	No, you enter the data	No	Yes	No
Online label printers	≈ €0.05 to €0.30 per label	No	No	No	Yes
Templates and freelance designers	Free to €1,500	Layout only	No	No	No
WineLex	from €290 / year (5 wines)	Yes	Yes, by a specialist	Yes, every vintage	Yes, on quote

Sources: published price pages of each provider; printer prices from public configurators.

Clear prices, per winery

Label check

Free

Your current label reviewed
List of what is missing, per country
Reply within 24 business hours

Back label + e-label

from €290 / year

excl. VAT

Up to 5 wines (references)
Back-label text per country of sale
Specialist check before printing
Hosted e-label page, no tracking
Update at each vintage

Additional wines on quote.

Printing

On quote

Format, paper and quantity of your choice
Delivered to the winery
Or print-ready files for your printer

Front label design