So, typically, labeling happens when you bottle wine. Wine goes through a big bottling line, and then labels (in the form of big stickers) are placed perfectly on the bottle.  But where’s the fun with that! (Read: We didn’t have our labels completed in time, DOH!)

Today we had the pleasure of hand labeling our 2012 Red Blend.  We started at 7 am and with our efficient team of three, and we knocked out 4 pallets by 4pm.  I was actually thinking, “this is good, we need to experience this!” And, “What a great way to start off our new label!”

David was the corner stone of our system. With a hand labeler borrowed from Spenker Winery in Lodi (where David once worked while in college) he spun those labels on in what looked like a much easier task than it actually was.  I tried my hand at it while he had lunch and failed miserably.

Tom took the lead by unpacking bottles that needed to be labeled and making sure all boxes were correctly labeled and in good working order.  I (Phil) re-boxed the labeled bottles, taped them up and stacked them on the pallet.  I like the thought that the next time this bottle is touched, it will have been purchased.  That’s kind of cool!

Now, we were told by Mr. Spenker, that we’d be lucky to get through 100 cases in one day.  But, you know we were up for the challenge.  With all the efficiency 3 Delta farm boys could muster, we got through 224 cases!  So, yea, we were pretty proud of ourselves after that.

We have to throw out some thank yous to Spenker Winery for the hand labeling machine, and to the team at California Wine Transport for setting us up with storage and also some space to do our labeling.  It’s great to enter this industry with friends willing to help us out.

Let’s Get Muddy!

– Phil