According to an article published by WineBusiness.com, off-premise wine sales have increased 4.5% in the four weeks ending July 23, 2001 compared to the same time last year, with wines in the $15 - $19.99 price segment leading that growth. Interestingly, domestic wine sales increased 6.2% while imported wine sales rose only 0.2% during that period. Another interesting piece of news from the article is that bottles selling for $8.99 and less have experienced a reduction in sales, while all of the segments from $9 and up have shown significant growth!


Graph courtesy winebusiness.com

Have you ever wondered if opening bottles dipped in NoChip Dip™ is a difficult process? Well, you're not alone, as we have had many inquiries asking this very question. We're happy to report that it is actually a very simple process! There are two easy ways to open wax-dipped bottles, and I would like to show those to you today. The first method is the simplest, and most people are pretty skeptical when we tell them about it. That method is to simply drive the corkscrew through the bottle as if the NoChip Dip™ weren't there! That's right, you can open a dipped bottle just as easily as a non-dipped one, using the same technique you're already used to using! Take a look at the picture here to see what I'm talking about.



The second method I would like to share with you today is becoming increasingly popular; we call it tear tape. This is a special tape that we have produced for us in a narrow 1/4" width. The tape is wrapped around the top of bottle prior to dipping it in NoChip Dip™. A small "handle" is left unwrapped, and after dipping, this handle can be used to "unzip" a small strip of the wax making it even easier to remove the cork. Here's another picture as it will illustrate what I'm talking about far clearer than I ever could through words!



If you're interested in using the tear tape on your next dipping project, then give us a call at (707) 252-5450. We sell rolls of the tape, as well as rent out a special tear tape applicator that makes installing the tape a breeze!

Have you ever wondered about the process in which your etched bottles are created? Well, here's a few pictures we took of the production facility today. As you can see in this first picture, we've got a pretty full production schedule at this time. In fact, our current lead time ranges from 3 - 6 weeks at a time like this!



And here's a few pictures of bottles being hand-painted by our very talented artists!











As you can see, a lot of attention and detail go into creating these beautiful bottles! If you have any questions about the bottle-etching process, don't hesitate to leave a comment below! Thanks for reading!

Check out the latest color of NoChip Dip™, bright purple! This is a fantastic new shade of purple for us, and we know it'll look great given the right label art. We imagine it would look great with a "southwestern" style label, and as a color complement, it would really make a yellow or bright green label pop by adding some nice contrast! This is definitely one of our more "fun" colors, and it's not for everyone - but when it's appropriate, this color will definitely make a bottle stand out from the crowd!

Welcome to the new Etched Images blog! Keep an eye on this space as we share the latest works of art created at our bottle etching studio. Over time, we'll share examples of our work, discuss the services we offer, and talk about the latest news regarding Etched Images and the wine industry in general. We hope that you'll enjoy seeing our work as it's created as we do making it! If you have any ideas about other topics you would like to see here, please leave a comment below, and tell us about it!