Lot Numbers & Traceability

Lot numbers are mandatory for any wine sold commercially in the EU or USA. They enable rapid recall if a product safety issue arises.

EU Regulation 1169/2011

Article 24 requires a lot identification mark on all pre-packaged food and drink, prefixed with the letter L. The format is at the producer's discretion, but it must allow the producer to identify the production batch.

TTB (USA)

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau requires a bottling date code on labels for bonded wineries. The format is flexible — many use LDDMMYYYY or LYYMMDD.

Best Practice

• Use a consistent format across all batches — MakeWine auto-generates a suggestion based on year, variety, and sequence.
• Record the lot number on the vessel, barrel, or tank label immediately.
• Log the lot number with each bottling run, not just per-fermentation.
• Keep a cellar book (paper or digital) cross-referencing lot numbers to fermentation records.