Vintage Wine Tag
These vintage wine tags, known formally as decanter labels, identify the contents of decanters while adding period character to the table.
Vintage Wine Tag
When you search for vintage wine tag, you encounter small pendant labels designed to hang around the necks of decanters to name the drink within. These items span periods from the eighteenth century through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, encompassing Georgian, Victorian, and mid-century examples.
The most common formats on this page are individual decanter labels and sets rendered in silver, alongside ceramic bin labels used in cellars. They identify specific beverages such as port, sherry, claret, madeira, hock, and brandy.
Origins range across traditional British workshops, with specific pieces bearing hallmarks from London and Birmingham alongside work by named silversmiths. Alongside metal tags, the selection includes glazed earthenware and creamware bin labels meant for wine cellar storage.
How they were made
Silversmiths shaped sterling silver and solid silver using piercing, engraving, and stamping techniques to create decorative borders like the vine leaf motif. Silver gilt and enamel additions appear on mid-century items, introducing colour and surface contrast to the metalwork.
Ceramic pieces utilise glazed earthenware and creamware bodies, often featuring painted or transferred titles for cellar use. Metal versions commonly attach via matching silver chains that secure the tag around the decanter neck.
Vintage Wine Tag Retail Price Guide 2026
Typical asking prices for vintage wine tag among the pieces listed under this phrase on Sellingantiques today, from the lower quarter to the upper quarter. They describe what is for sale here now, not the wider market.
Listed periods include the 18th Century, Georgian, Regency, William IV, Victorian, Edwardian, and the 1930s.
What varies in quality
The distinction between ordinary and superior pieces rests on the crispness of the pierced decoration, the depth of the hand-engraved lettering, and the presence of clear hallmarks. Maker attribution, such as work by identified silversmiths, elevates certain examples above unmarked items.
Completeness also dictates standing, particularly where matching sets survive intact with their original silver chains. The weight of the solid silver and the sophistication of styles like Rococo Revival further separate standard productions from finer workshop outputs.
William Barrett II·Elizabeth Morley·Thomas Wallis II·Mappin And Webb
The Vintage Wine Tag Glossary
- Decanter label
- A small tag hung around the neck of a decanter to identify the wine or spirit inside. These items are also historically termed bottle tickets or wine labels.
- Bin label
- A ceramic or earthenware tablet used in wine cellars to mark the contents of specific storage bins. They frequently feature titles like Hock, Sherry, or Claret.
- Hallmark
- An official stamp or series of marks applied to precious metals in Britain to indicate standard of purity, place of assay, and year of manufacture. They provide the primary means of dating silver items.
- Silver gilt
- Silver that has been coated with a thin layer of gold on its surface. This technique provides a rich two-tone appearance.
- Creamware
- A type of fine earthenware developed in Yorkshire during the eighteenth century, characterised by its pale yellow or cream-coloured glaze.
Vintage Wine Tag: Frequently Asked Questions
What is a vintage wine tag?
A vintage wine tag is a small pendant that hangs around the neck of a decanter to name the beverage held within.
These pieces range from Georgian silver creations to mid-century enamel designs.
How were decanter labels used?
They served a practical purpose at the dining table by identifying different wines and spirits before decanters became permanently etched.
Guests and hosts used them to distinguish between similar contents like port, sherry, and madeira.
How do you date a silver wine tag?
Dating relies primarily on the stamped hallmarks, which record the assay office, date letter, and silversmith's mark.
Stylistic indicators such as Regency borders or Victorian vine leaf motifs also help place pieces within specific decades.
What are ceramic bin labels?
Ceramic bin labels are earthenware or creamware tablets used to identify wine bins in traditional cellars rather than hanging from decanters.
They display names of specific vintages or regions like hock or claret for storage organisation.