Digital wine list • 17 August 2025

Digitize Your Restaurant: 6 Concrete Digital Tools to Optimize Management, Reduce Costs, and Improve Customer Experience

Smart QR codes on labels: how to deploy them to activate D2C, meet e-label requirements, and measure impact — without unnecessary complexity. This guide offers a pragmatic approach tailored to wineries and wine merchants.

Choose the Type of QR Code

Static: the URL is printed as is. Advantages: no cost, simplicity. Limitations: impossible to change the destination after printing, no batch segmentation.

Dynamic: the printed URL points to a router (your domain or a service) that then redirects. Advantages: post-print modification, A/B testing, targeting by country/language, better measurement. Recommended for recurring series and scalable e-labels.

• Recommendation: use a dynamic QR with a short subdomain (e.g., go.yourdomain.fr/xyz)
• Redundancy: provide a backup URL accessible if the router is down

Link Architecture and Redirections

Minimalist URL Model

Use short and opaque slugs to facilitate printing and reading: go.yourdomain.fr/a1b2. Avoid sensitive information in the URL. Centralize redirection rules on the server side (CDN, edge functions) for robustness.

Manage Vintages and Markets

• Parameters: map slug → product → vintage → language
• Geolocation: fallback by browser language if the IP is inaccurate
• End of life: redirect to a generic sheet when the vintage is out of stock

Contents: e-label and D2C

Clearly separate the e-label page (regulatory and technical information) and D2C elements (purchase, registration). The experience should remain mobile-first, multilingual, and fast.

• E-label: product information, mandatory mentions, clear pictograms, access without third-party scripts
• D2C: “Buy”/ “Find a Merchant” button, upsell discovery pack, optional newsletter signup
• SEO: clear markup (title, h1, structured product data if relevant)
• Performance: images , CDN cache, weight < 300 KB if possible

To follow trends and news related to digitization in wine, also check the News section: winevizer.com/news.

Performance Measurement

Aim for privacy-respecting measurement: no non-essential cookies on the e-label and aggregation of scan events.

• UTM by print campaign: utm_medium=label&utm_content=lot123
• Events: scan_start, page_view, click_buy, store_locator
• Dashboard: scans by market/vintage/lot, D2C click-through rate, median loading time
• Tests: A/B on page structure (CTA position, bottle visual)

Operations and Printing

• Minimum size: 12–14 mm depending on complexity; aim for 16 mm for safety
• Contrast: light background, dark ink; avoid shiny metallic effects
• Quiet zone: 2–4 modules around the code, without overlapping logo
• Error correction level: M or Q for tolerance to printing defects
• Position: accessible even if the bottle is half-turned; not on the label fold
• QA: sampling with 1D/2D verifier, iOS/Android tests, low light
• Traceability: link the code to the internal lot (ERP) for quick withdrawal/recall if needed

Security and Compliance

• Avoid collecting personal data on the e-label; limit to aggregated metrics
• Host the pages on a domain under your control; HTTPS encryption mandatory
• Provide a privacy policy accessible from the landing page
• On D2C, manage consent to trackers in a granular and clear manner
• Protection of redirections: whitelists and anti-phishing monitoring

Checklist and Tools

• Routing: short domain + redirections managed at the CDN/edge level
• QR Generation: SaaS service or internal script with vector export (SVG/PDF)
• CMS: lightweight e-label model, multilingual, without heavy dependencies
• Analytics: event tracking without cookies for the e-label; e-commerce solution for the D2C part
• QA: printing checklist + mobile test bench
• Process: mapping lot → URL, post-print update procedure, continuity plan

Conclusion

• Prefer dynamic QR codes on a controlled short domain
• Separate e-label (compliance) and D2C (conversion) for a clear experience
• Measure scans and clicks in an aggregated manner, without complicating data collection
• Pay attention to printing: size, contrast, correction, QA
• Anticipate maintenance: redirections, end of life, vintage updates

For more concrete guides on the digitization of the wine sector, explore the dedicated section: winevizer.com/category/digitalisation