Alcohol labels have less room for creative error than most packaging. Wine, beer, cider, spirits and RTDs sold in New Zealand need the normal packaged food basics plus alcohol-specific declarations. The artwork needs to make those declarations legible before the design goes to proof, foil, embossing or die-cut.
This guide covers the checks we run into most often at prepress. It is general guidance, not legal advice.
What must be on a wine or alcohol label
For most packaged alcoholic drinks sold in New Zealand, allow space for:
- Product name. Clear description of what the drink is.
- Alcohol content. For drinks above 1.15% ABV, this is normally shown as a percentage alcohol by volume.
- Standard drinks. Required for drinks above 0.5% ABV.
- Pregnancy warning label. Required for alcoholic drinks above 1.15% ABV labelled after 1 August 2023.
- Net contents. Bottle, can or pack volume.
- Lot or batch identification. Traceability for recall and quality control.
- Supplier details. Name and address of the responsible supplier.
- Allergen declarations. Required where allergens are present, such as sulphites above the declaration threshold.
- Country or origin statements. Particularly important for wine and export claims.
- Any category-specific statements. Vintage, variety, region and grape wine statements need to be accurate and supportable.
Alcohol content and standard drinks
All drinks above 0.5% ABV need alcohol labelling. Drinks above 1.15% ABV must show alcohol content as a percentage ABV or equivalent ml/100ml statement. Low-alcohol products have different wording rules, and a drink cannot be presented as low alcohol unless it meets the threshold.
The standard drinks statement is separate. It tells the customer how many standard drinks are in the container. The calculation uses alcohol content and package volume, so changes to bottle size or ABV can change the number.
For a wine brand, this matters at artwork version control. If the vintage comes in at a different ABV, the front or back label may need updating before the repeat run.
Pregnancy warning labels
Pregnancy warning labels are now a normal part of alcohol packaging. Alcoholic drinks above 1.15% ABV labelled after 1 August 2023 need the required pregnancy warning label. FSANZ sets design, size, contrast and legibility requirements, so it should be treated as a mandatory artwork element, not a decorative icon that can be resized freely.
For small back labels, the pregnancy warning can be the element that forces a layout rethink. Put it into the compliance copy early, before finalising barcode, allergen, producer story and export copy.
Allergens and sulphites
Wine commonly needs a sulphites declaration where sulphites are present above the relevant threshold. Other alcoholic products may need declarations for milk, egg, gluten-containing cereals, tree nuts or other allergens depending on inputs and processing aids.
The safest workflow is to supply the final ingredient and processing-aid information with the artwork brief. We can flag obvious layout issues, but the brand needs to confirm the product formulation and allergen position.
Claims that cause trouble
Alcohol above 1.15% ABV cannot carry general health or nutrition claims. Claims around low alcohol, non-intoxicating, organic, natural, vegan, preservative-free, gluten-free or regional origin need evidence and the right wording.
Wine origin, grape variety and vintage claims also need to line up with the rules for New Zealand grape wine label statements and any export market requirements. If the label is heading offshore, check the destination market before printing.
What we check before proofing
Our prepress review is practical. We look for the common issues that turn into expensive reprints:
- missing standard drinks or ABV
- pregnancy warning label not present or not legible
- allergen copy missing or too small
- barcode and quiet zones compromised by die-cut or artwork
- mandatory copy placed over foil, varnish or low-contrast backgrounds
- vintage, ABV or volume mismatches between front, back and carton artwork
- copy sitting too close to the cut line
We are not a regulatory consultant. Where the question is legal rather than print practical, we will flag it and point you back to MPI, FSANZ or your adviser.
Useful official sources
Before you send wine label artwork
Send the label size, bottle volume, ABV, vintage, variety, region, supplier details, barcode, allergen position and export destination if there is one. If the wine is a repeat, tell us whether the ABV, vintage, standard drinks or supplier copy changed since the last run.
That lets us catch print and layout issues before the proof goes out, not after the stock is on press.