Does this sound familiar to all you collectors out there? You have your bottles resting peacefully in a storage facility, or maybe a home wine cellar. You go to pull out a 20-year-old Grand Cru Burgundy, and because that bottle is just a little bigger than the shelf or wine rack allows, it skims the bottom part of the shelf and leaves just enough of a scratch on the label that makes you want to rip your hair out.
While, of course, the bottle’s contents remain unaffected, the label carries critical information about the wine’s origin, vintage and authenticity and is part of the beauty of the entire wine package. This becomes especially important for fine and rare wines, where every detail adds to their allure, and ultimately, their monetary value.
How Labels Get Scratched
The most common way that a wine label can experience a scratch or scuff is when it is being placed, or removed, from the cellar.
Wine bottles that are stored in tight, ill-fitting or overcrowded racks are prone to friction when they are pulled out or placed back, leading to scratched or damaged labels.
Additionally, some wine refrigerators with improper spacing or sharp-edged shelves can wreak the most havoc on those collectible labels. As can shelves with no padding to cushion the bottle, which can cause labels to wear away over time.
Another culprit leading to scratched labels can be bulk storage, or stacking bottles against one another. That friction can quite easily cause
This Article was originally published on Wine Enthusiast
