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Matthias Vollherbst

Technology

craftLABEL Origin in the Label

09. September 2025

A development of our own: craftLABEL! We work natural materials, metal particles or aromas into the label. For example loess soil and slate from the vineyard, or grass from a championship match at the stadium, or sand or hemp. There are no limits to the imagination. This is how origin stories are told today: visible, tangible and experiential! And above all unique and authentic in a fiercely contested market.

The idea – making history tangible

Wines, distillates and delicacies from family businesses and innovative companies are not industrial goods, but craft with origin. Every wine or every honey has an individual story. But how do you make that clear on the label? How do you show authenticity and origin? Vollherbst developed a distinctive form of storytelling: the craftLABEL. The English term “craft” can be translated as “craftsmanship”; the word “label” as both a label and a brand.

“It’s too bad that
a wine
cannot stroke”

Kurt Tocholsky

It is about the authentic, the profound, the unmistakable. The customer wants to feel and experience. Journalist and writer Kurt Tucholsky once remarked with regret: “A pity one cannot stroke a wine.” He did not yet know Vollherbst’s craftLABEL.

The projects – terroir on the label

Using a special process we work the desired materials into the label. For example, rock particles from the vineyard, such as pulverised loess and slate soil. The soil is among the most valuable things for the winegrower. It decisively shapes the wine. The wine drinker now feels these rock particles at home on the craftLABEL. These are details that impressively bring even more authenticity, emotion and storytelling to the consumer.

The possibilities – imagination has no limits

We have realised a wide variety of projects. Here are a few examples: we have printed in sand from the African savannah. We can finish the label with metal particles, such as bronze dust. For football fans it is possible for us to immortalise the turf from the championship match on the sparkling wine label. Some winegrowers ferment and mature their wines in granite barrels – we put the granite on the label. And did you know that your strawberry secco label can carry a fragrance?

Making it – handwork in the print shop

Many test phases are required before the craftLABEL is perfect: the mixing ratio of particles to varnish must be right; the transparency must allow the particles to remain visible; and they must be firmly fixed on the label. Only then are the particles applied to the paper using state-of-the-art technology. The process works with conventional printing, so reproductions in large runs are possible.

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