All about labels
After being in the hospitality/retail sales sphere for nearly a decade and a half now, I've come to appreciate a good label. While I love well designed branding and eye-catching presentations, that is not however what I'm talking about here. Instead, I'm referring to what is on the often unappreciated back of the label.
As there is more concern than ever from consumers about what goes into our bodies, it is becoming even more important for producers to be transparent about what is inside their packaging. While I hope for stronger government regulations on this subject, and recent changes such as the newest EU Wine labeling requirements are encouraging, I think it's foolhardy to wait for outside standards to be put in place. The cold reality is that the producers who are making what is little more than alco-pop using apple concentrate, "natural" and artificial flavorings, chemical adjuncts and adjustments and the like and calling it cider are not going to be inclined to reveal those things voluntarily. Thus, it is up to the producers who actually care about what is going into what they make to provide that kind of transparency.
Now, I'm not a marketer or a graphic designer, but I know that designing a label is hard. Not only are you trying to get across a brand identity and tell the story of your product, fit in all the governmentally required information. So, making room to also provide the kind of information I'm talking about is one more thing for a small amount of space. But, I think it's of utmost importance.
As both a consumer and a salesperson, what is or is not on a label is going to be a large part of whether I buy it myself or recommend it to someone else. Even if it's something that I've purchased and is sitting on my shelf at home, that same label might determine whether or not I choose to drink it on any given night. I love having conversations with producers and looking at websites and reading tech sheets, (as an aside, please make more tech sheets, make them easy to find, and keep all the old ones accessible, I'm begging you!) but most of the time I may not remember all of that wonderful information and that leaves me with the label right in front of me. If I can't quickly determine if what's in my hand is sweet or not, or what kind of flavor profiles it has, I'm more likely to move on to something else that does and ensure it fits what I'm looking for.
Here is the minimum amount of information that I think a label should provide, along with deeper levels of information that I would love to see. I recognize that many of the finer details might be too much to fit on any given label, but if so, that information should be easily accessible elsewhere.
- Sweetness scale
- Full acid/tannin/sweetness flavor chart like the one used by 33 Books.
- Style and Tasting notes
- Bottling date (since we still can't use vintage), serving temperature, pairing suggestions, and ageability.
- Detailed ingredients
- Percentages of apple types and adjuncts, orchard and sourcing details, yeast types, fermentation length, brix, ph, and disclosures about processes such as sulfites, nutrients, filtration, and fining agents.
It's still surprising to me that some of the most well known and well respected producers don't always provide even the most basic levels of information. Cider is still very much a misunderstood product, and we can't take for granted that someone picking up any given bottle or can has any idea what they are holding. As such, for the industry to continue to grow we need to provide information in clear and easily accessible ways. That way whether it is the first cider someone tries or the hundredth, they have a good idea of what they are holding.
In the end, only those who have something to hide have any reason to withhold this kind of information. So, for everyone else out there that doesn't, please do the work to put more information on your labels, as better knowledge and understanding lifts all of us up and provides more enjoyment of what makes it's way into our glass.
Wassail!