Wine e-label: the QR page, updated every vintage
WineLex prepares the back label and the e-label of your wine for every EU country where you sell it, checked by a specialist before printing. The QR code on the bottle leads to a page we write, host without any tracking, translate for each market and update when the vintage changes.
A specialist replies within 24 business hours. No commitment.
What is a wine e-label?
A web page reached through a QR code on the bottle, which gives the list of ingredients and the full nutrition declaration that Regulation (EU) 2021/2117 allows wineries to provide by electronic means. The energy value and the allergens must still be printed on the label itself.
The rule applies to wines produced from 8 December 2023. Before that date, wine was exempt from the ingredients and nutrition rules that apply to most foods. The e-label is the compromise the EU found: the consumer gets the full information, the label stays readable.
The page must not be shown together with information intended for sales or marketing, and it must not collect or track user data. A product page on the winery's website, with a shop button, a newsletter pop-up or analytics, does not meet these conditions.
What the page looks like
Example of an e-label page. No cookies, no tracking, no marketing.
Exemplum Red · Example Winery
Ingredients
Grapes, acidity regulator: tartaric acid, preservative: sulphites.
Nutrition declaration
| Nutrition declaration | per 100 ml |
|---|---|
| Energy | 312 kJ / 75 kcal |
| Fat | 0 g |
| of which saturates | 0 g |
| Carbohydrate | 0.2 g |
| of which sugars | 0.2 g |
| Protein | 0 g |
| Salt | 0 g |
Allergens
Contains sulphites.
This page contains no advertising and collects no data.
What makes an e-label page compliant?
Correct content (ingredients with additive categories, nutrition per 100 ml), the language of the consumer, the word “ingredients” next to the QR code on the label, no marketing and no tracking, and a link that keeps working for as long as bottles are on sale.
- One page per wine, and per vintage when the values change.
- Every language of the countries where the wine is sold, chosen automatically or by the reader.
- No cookies, no analytics, no advertising, no link to a shop or to social networks.
- Allergens repeated on the page in bold, even though they are already printed on the label.
- A stable address: the QR code printed today must still work in five or ten years.
- The word “ingredients” printed next to the code. A symbol alone, such as “i”, is not enough.
What goes on the label next to the QR code?
The word “ingredients”, in the language of the country of sale, next to the code. If the full nutrition declaration is only online, the energy value must be printed on the label, for example “E (100 ml) = 312 kJ / 75 kcal”. Allergens such as “contains sulphites” are always printed.
The European Commission confirmed in November 2023, two weeks before the deadline, that the word “ingredients” must be written and that a pictogram alone does not identify the electronic means. Many labels already printed had to be redone. We build that line into every back label we write.
The QR code should be large enough to scan from a shelf. In our layouts it is rarely smaller than 15 mm, with a quiet zone around it, and it is tested on several phones before the proof is sent to you.
Which e-label solution suits a small winery?
Free tools work if you only need a page and are sure of your data. Paid platforms add more labels and features. A service like ours adds the writing of the back label, the specialist check and the updates. The table compares public prices.
| Option | Public price | Who enters the data | Checks the label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free public tools (chambers of commerce, trade bodies) | Free | You | No |
| e-label.eu | Free (3 labels) to €130 / year | You, or their team for a fee | No |
| U-Label by Scantrust | €230 to €1,500 / year | You | No |
| WineLex | from €290 / year for 5 wines, back label included | Us, from your analysis | Yes, before printing |
Prices published by each provider, noted in November. They may have changed since.
What happens at the next vintage?
You send us the new analysis. We recalculate the energy value, update the ingredients if the winemaking changed, and publish the new values. If the page address is the same, the QR codes already printed keep working; if the label values change, we adjust the back label too.
We keep each vintage on its own page when values differ, so a bottle of the previous vintage still shows its own data. This is the part most wineries forget: an e-label is not a one-off file, it is a page that must follow the wine for years.
Do I need a new QR code for each vintage?
No, if the code points to an address that can be updated. We give each wine a stable address and keep a version per vintage when the values change. The bottle of the previous vintage still shows its own data, and you never reprint a label only to change a QR code.
How long must the e-label page stay online?
For as long as bottles of that wine can be on sale or in someone's cellar, which for a good red can be ten years or more. No text sets a fixed duration, so we write the hosting period into each quote, including after the end of the contract.
Can I host the e-label on my own website?
Yes, if that page has no marketing, no shop link and no tracking, which usually means a separate, plain page outside your normal site template and analytics. Many winery sites load analytics on every page by default, so a dedicated host is often simpler.
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
On quote
- Optional
- Front and back designed together
- Mandatory particulars placed from the start
No setup fee. No discount countdown. Swiss wineries: prices in CHF on request.
Questions from winemakers
Can I use a free e-label generator instead?
Yes, several exist and some are good. They create the page from the data you enter. They do not check that data, write your back label or follow your vintages. If you only need the page and are sure of your data, a free tool may be enough.
What happens to the page if I stop the subscription?
Bottles stay on shelves for years, so the QR codes already printed must keep working. The page is kept online after the end of the contract; the exact duration is written in your quote.
Is a QR code mandatory on wine labels?
No. It is one allowed way to give the ingredients list and the nutrition declaration. You can also print them in full on the label. Most wineries choose the QR code because the full table takes a lot of room.
Does the e-label need to be in several languages?
It must be in a language easily understood where the wine is sold. If you sell in Italy and Germany, the page needs Italian and German. One page can offer several languages.
Can the e-label page show my winery's logo?
The name of the wine and the producer can identify the product. Logos used as advertising, slogans, tasting notes, awards and links to buy are marketing and should stay off the page.
Sources
Selection criteria: we cite official texts first (EUR-Lex, national law portals), then named surveys with their publisher.
Send us your current label
A photo or a PDF is enough. We tell you what is missing for each country where you sell, and what it would cost to fix.
Label check: Free · Back label + e-label: from €290 / year
A specialist replies within 24 business hours. No commitment.