Wine and olive oil labels: mandatory information, regulations and design tips

A label is often the only "salesperson" standing next to a bottle of wine or olive oil – on a shop shelf, in a wine shop or on a restaurant table. In a few seconds it has to catch the eye, convey the character of the product and carry every particular the regulations require, so wine label design is never just a matter of looks. Here we explain what a wine or olive oil label must say, how we approach its design, what to watch for in print and what the price of label design depends on.

In brief

• The mandatory particulars for wine and olive oil are set by EU rules. The producer confirms their content; we make sure they fit on the label and stay legible.
• A good label has a clear hierarchy: brand and product first, then type and origin, with the mandatory particulars legible but not dominant.
• The price of label design depends on the number of labels and their complexity: a single label is not the same job as a shared design for a whole product line. Print preparation is included.

Wine and olive oil: similar products, different labels

Both are often bought as a gift or a local speciality, so the label must look high-quality and trustworthy. Even so, buyers choose them differently.

With wine, buyers look for the grape variety, the wine region and the vintage, and the label carries the character of the winery. Wine usually has a front and a back label, and often a neck label too. White and sparkling wines are chilled, often in an ice bucket, so the paper has to cope with moisture.

With olive oil, buyers look for the category (for example extra virgin), the origin and freshness. Oil is often bottled in dark glass, which protects it from light, and the label has to withstand contact with oil – an oil stain on unprotected paper quickly spoils the impression.

What the label must say

Wine

The mandatory particulars for wine are set by Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/33. They include:

• the category of the product (for example wine) and, for wines that have one, the protected designation of origin or protected geographical indication,
• the actual alcoholic strength by volume (% vol) and the nominal volume (for example 0.75 l),
• the provenance, the bottler and the lot number,
• allergens, for example "contains sulphites".

For wines produced from 8 December 2023, an ingredients list and a nutrition declaration are also mandatory. These may be provided electronically, through a QR code linking to an e-label, but the energy value and allergens must remain on the physical label. Most of the mandatory particulars have to appear in the same field of vision, so they can be read without turning the bottle – one of the reasons we plan the layout of the back label before the visual design.

Olive oil

Olive oil is covered by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/2104 and the general Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on food information to consumers. Among other things, the label must include:

• the name of the category (for example extra virgin olive oil) with the prescribed description of that category,
• the designation of origin, which is mandatory for extra virgin and virgin olive oil,
• storage conditions (away from light and heat),
• the net quantity, best-before date, name and address of the food business operator, lot number and, as a rule, a nutrition declaration.

The harvest year may be shown only if the entire contents of the bottle come from that harvest. For mandatory food information there is a minimum x-height of 1.2 mm, or 0.9 mm on packaging whose largest surface is under 80 cm² – which directly determines how much text fits on a small label.

If you sell in Croatia, the mandatory particulars must be in Croatian, and other languages can be added. We cover the general rules in our article Labels: how to design a quality label.

This overview is not legal advice: the producer confirms the final list of mandatory particulars, often with an oenologist or food-safety adviser, and we make sure everything fits and stays legible.

How we design a label

1. Getting to know the product and the market. Who buys it, where the bottle is sold and what the competition on the shelf looks like – a wine for younger buyers needs a different label from one aimed at an older audience.
2. Shape and dimensions. We agree the shape and exact dimensions based on the bottle details you send us: front and back label, plus a neck label if needed.
3. Information hierarchy. We lay out the mandatory particulars first and then build the visual design around them, not the other way round.
4. Visual language. Colours, typography and illustration have to suit both the product and its price point. A product that looks too expensive can put buyers off just as much as one that looks too cheap.
5. Print preparation. Die-cut shape, bleed, colours and finishes are prepared in consultation with the printer.

Examples from our portfolio

Casa del Sol: Istrian Teran and extra virgin olive oil

In 2024 we designed two labels for the Casa del Sol brand: an Istrian Teran wine and an extra virgin olive oil. Both build on the logo we created for the brand a year earlier (Casa del Sol logo design): in the gold mark, "casa" and "del" are smaller, "sol" is larger, and swirls from the letters "s" and "l" extend beyond the square frame. The oil label has a black background with gold lines, and the "Istarski Teran 2019" label comes in two versions, gold on black and gold on white. One visual system covers two products and ties them clearly to the brand.

Shevchenko: walnut and pumpkin seed oils

For Shevchenko, a small family business from Ukraine, we designed the label for their first oils in 2025. The aim was clarity and trust rather than luxury: a white background, an image of pumpkin seeds or walnuts that shows at a glance what the oil is made from, the gold logo on a dark grey banner and gold details that add quality without overdoing it.

Shevchenko: honey – logo, label and packaging

Earlier, we created the logo, label and packaging for the same client's honey. The path the bee traces in the logo is actually the owner's signature, and instead of the usual yellow we chose gold. When a producer expands its range, a consistent logo, colours and details make a new label look like part of the same product family from day one.

You can see more work in our Packaging category.

Print and materials: what to watch for

• Paper for wine: textured wine-label papers give an impression of quality, but for white and sparkling wines that are chilled in ice, choose a moisture-resistant paper.
• Material for oil: a film or protective varnish that can withstand contact with oil.
• Finishes: gold hot-foil stamping, blind embossing or spot UV varnish look superb but add to the print cost. They work best used selectively, on the logo or product name, rather than across the whole label.
• Proof: before the full print run, check a proof on the actual bottle. Glass colour and bottle curvature change how the design looks compared with the screen.

What the price of label design depends on

The price of label design depends mainly on the number of labels and the complexity of the design. A single label is one job; a product line is another: one umbrella design that changes colour, photo or text for each product, so the range reads as one family on the shelf. Design includes print preparation, while printing is arranged separately. To see everything that is included and how to request a quote, visit our wine and olive oil label design page.