Bottle delabeling week!

[JWMINNESOTA]

Im lucky enough to have several sources for bottles, including a friend of the wifes that tends bar, but my favorite source is a co worker, he's good for 3-4 1500's a week, thats where our favorites go!

 

[kutya]

De-labeling bottles has to be one of the most time consuming jobs in wine making, but I'm always in for free bottles...

 

[B M W]

I like the free bottles too, and have some great friends who keep me supplied. I had a bunch soaking in the bathtub when my son came home from the university, he went back to tell all his friends what a redneck family he has

. He calls the bottle tree my redneck Christmas tree, and tells me it's okay to be a redneck mom, just embrace it (he likes to tease)

 

[NorthernWinos]

A friend has a supper club down where we use to live...a mutual friend lives near there and does maintenance work [closing in winter-opening in spring, and otherremodeling choresin exchange for meals] he picks up cases of bottles for us....They tend to sell about8 or9 brands...so most of the bottles match up pretty nice....they are more than happy to put the bottles in a box and set outside...more dumpster space for them....We just have to make trips to visit each other...which works out great...usually we give a case of wine or more for a car load of bottles...we are all happy...

When I get them home I sort them according to bottle type and color, turn them upside down, close and mark the boxes, stack in piles of each bottle type....store them outside in an old shed.


When I start a batch of wine or need bottles I bring them in from the shed...Soak them in the laundry tub in hot water, rinse with faucet jet blaster, use a bottle brush...more jet blasting, inspect against strong light...rinse....now I scrape with the paint-remover razor blade, scraping around the bottle instead of up & down...[Thanks Masta

...great tip...duh...what was I thinking??] use a wire scrubby, green scrubby thingy...but a new razor blade gets almost everything off...I rinse well, put newspaper and clean paper towel in the case under the cardboard divider...put the bottles in upside down ...when its bottling day...I inspect them again against a bright light, soak in 1 Step or Straight A for a few minutes, rinse with faucet jet blaster, rinse outside of bottle, rinse with sulfite...fill with wine...


I kind of do overkill with washing and inspecting the bottles...once in a great while will find something undesirable at the second washing...

When we empty a bottle we rinse and store in boxes up side down, those are usually stored in the spare bedroom or in the sewing room on the treadmill...we have spiders and other little nasty bugs around here that have been found in bottles, so am sure they are always up side down...


Actually I don't mind cleaning bottles...do it on a day when nothing else is pending...it's a good feeling because you know you have wine on the way to be bottled....

 

[Wade E]

Im suprised you dont use a beer cap on them after washing!

Thats a lot of washing there NW but its better to be safe then sorry right!

 

[jobe05]

Sounds like we have about the same bottle cleaning ritual NW.


Not over kill to me, just one shot of getting it right....... Mights well do it as right as possible.......


I mean................... That's were my babies are going to live and grow up!

 

[rgecaprock]

It is a dreaded job getting some of those labels off!! I have an apartment sink with a faucet that you can barely get a glass under....thought about offering to buy one of the tall faucets and have the apartments put it in for me.
Also thought about giving my wine friends anice bottle fullfor every 12 they give me empty..completey clean and de-labeled...or do you all think that is too much work for just one bottle...maybe every 6...huh?


RamonaEdited by: rgecaprock

 

[geocorn]

Only thing I can say is that you never get more than what you ask for!

 

[Wade E]

Do you have a bathtub as this is where I do mine now since every time I
go to use the sink to do this I get yelled at. Or you can do what
others do and get a brute or similiar container from Walmart or Target
that is big enough to do a bigger batch.

 

[rgecaprock]

Yep, I'm sure...once they find out what a pain it is...but then again...it's worth it!!!

 

[rgecaprock]

Wade,
The Wallyworld or Dollar General Tub sounds like a plan. I know where there is a nice Rubbermaid tub in our closet with a couple hundred comic books that Curtis can't seem topart with.....after we sold all the valuable ones!! That will work just fine....lol
RamonaEdited by: rgecaprock

 

[Mike777]

I need to invent a way to clean them fast and easy. I could retire off of that invention!

An ultrasonic cleaning tub to do 6 at a time filled with a proprietary soap and orange oil solution and very rough plastic balls about the size of peas. Soak the labels till wet and stick em in the scrubber when most of the paper is gone.

Ok you get to retire and I get a free one. What else needs engineered?

(besides patience)

 

[BrianD]

I use a large rubbermaid type tub for delabeling as well as sanitizing beer bottles with bleach.

But I've drilled out a hole and added the plastic spigot such as sold by George. That allows me to use this on the counter and easily drain it into the sink when finished.



Edited by: BrianD

 

[grapeman]

That's a handy hint. I'll need to remember that one

 

[Wade E]

Great idea there Brian!

Edited by: wade