Let's Make Fruit Wine Part 4

Welcome back! We are about to dive into the world of finishing your bottle of wine. If you are just joining us you may want to head back to Part 1 of our series on making your own fruit wine!

Shrink Caps

I know...you're looking at the great wine you just produced and that plain bottle just isn’t doing all your hard work any justice.  What can we do about it?

Let’s get creative and finish it off properly!  First, let’s hide that cork with a beautiful shrink wrap. They are very easy to use and add the perfect finishing touch.  All you need are the shrink caps (foil covers), a shrink cap tool, your wine and boiling water.  Really, that's it!

We have gorgeous gold shrink caps at Make Your Own!

Now let’s get started.  Bring a 1 quart pot of water to a boil.  You don’t want or need a hard boil; just a steady rolling boil is good.  Place your cap on top of your bottle and hold it in place using your shrink cap tool. Quickly dip the top of the bottle in the water and pull it out. (If you don’t have a good grip on the cap it will not shrink in a smooth manner.) Dry your bottle and you’re done!

Another alternative to the boiling water method is to use a hair dryer or a heat gun. This method will also shrink your caps, but it takes only seconds with a direct heat source. Place your shrink cap over your bottle top and hit it with the heat source from the top down until the cap has shrunk down. This method can take a bit of practice.

Labeling Your Wine Bottles

Was that the Merlot or the Cab?  Red is red, so how will you tell them apart?  You could do a taste test but you may not get the one you wanted, so let’s make labels.  It’s not hard, really!  You need a label making program or templates, labels, and a computer with a printer.  There is a great website that lets you make free labels: freelabelmaker.com and Avery.com has the labels.  You can also get the labels at any office supply store.  What you are looking for are 3 ½ x 5 shipping labels. They come 4 to a sheet and have the adhesive already on them.  Avery.com has 2 of them listed, item numbers – 5168 and 8168. 

Once you have your labels, go to the label maker website and pick your wine label design.  A .pdf file will open with the design in it.  Simply add the text you want.  You only fill out the first label; it will automatically add the text to all the labels for you.  Just print, peel and stick them to your wine bottles.  Now your wine bottle is perfect and it has a professional look that fits your homebrewed wine!  And the best part is – You make it your own!

Up Next: Making your own Gourmet Hot Sauce