Customers occasionally confuse our program with wine importing. Both can produce a labeled bottle that carries the customer's brand. The structural differences are significant, and worth knowing before placing an order.
The importer
A wine importer sources wine in bulk from international producers, brings it across the U.S. border, pays import duty, and either bottles it under a generic label or applies the customer's label as a final step. The wine is foreign. The duties are real. The customs delays can extend the lead time to months. The cost per bottle is heavily dependent on shipping conditions.
The custom labeler
A custom labeler produces or sources domestic wine, holds it in bonded inventory, and runs the customer's label on demand from a domestic printer. The wine is Californian. There are no import duties. The lead time is the printer's lead time, typically one to two weeks. The cost per bottle is more predictable and lower at small volumes.
The customer choice
Small custom-label programs, family wines, country club house wines, restaurant private labels, are almost always better served by a custom labeler. Importers are better suited for larger volume orders where the per-unit savings on bulk import justify the longer lead time. The cutoff is approximately five thousand bottles. Under that, custom labeling beats importing on every dimension.