Color of Bottles?

[Elmer]

Simple question:
What coloured bottles do you use?
And why?

I have always stayed away from clear as I was told it exposes the wine to too much light. I usually use a dark or light greenish bottle.

 

[NashChic]

I use clear for skeeter pee, "mist" kits, or anything I don't plan to hold onto for a while. For wines I plan to age for any length of time, I use colored bottles... Usually green for reds, the yellowish ones for whites.

 

[JohnT]

You really want to use a dark color for any wine that you want to hold onto for a while.

I use a dark green for all of my wines, but not so dark as to make it hard to see the level of wine in the bottle.

 

[Rocky]

I use clear or light green for whites and dark green or brown for reds. Nothing seems to last in my cellar for more that two or three years anyway, so for me, it probably does not matter.

 

[jswordy]

Whatever's at the recycling center. My wine is stored in the dark.

 

[Dugger]

My bottling protocol is the same as Rocky's although I used to use one or two clear bottles in each batch for my reds just to see the color and monitor for any changes. Since I neglected to do the monitoring, I stopped doing that.

 

[BernardSmith]

I store my bottles in the dark but like Dugger says he did, I try include at least one clear bottle in each batch so that I can easily check to see if any sediment is dropping. And wines like rhubarb or chocolate - made from nibs and not powder, have a color that dark bottles would hide and clear bottles enhance.

 

[JohnT]

Just a follow up...

Light colored bottles for light colored wine that is not to be kept for a long time.

With dark colored bottles, they are better for wine that is to be storred for a while, but is just as good as the light colored bottles when it comes to short term storage.

So, my thinking is this. If you are spending money on bottles, and you reused them, then why not just get all dark bottles?

 

[Elmer]

I always try to reuse bottle, but dont always get them back.
I typically use a dark green, but have always had 1 or 2 clear bottles floating through my collection.
I like having the clear bottles as it helps get a sense of the colour and clearing.

When I store I usually put them back in the box or stack in a wooden milk crate, which is standing up. Eitherway they are covered in a good woven, hippie blanket and never see exposure to the sun.

But thanks for all the feedback!

 

[DirtyDawg10]

I try to use mostly dark bottles but I reuse any decent bottles I have so there are several clear ones as well. I don't care much about monitoring the color. I check that when I pour it into a glass, unless I drink it too fast then I just pour another one to check the color.

 

[saramc]

I have an assortment of amber/brown, cobalt blue, light & dark green, and clear. My red grape wines almost always get darker bottles and are returned to boxes for cellaring, though I will not hesitate to use a clear bottle for a grape wine like Catawba, Niagara, Diamond, Concord--those sweet & easy drinkers. I do find that I tend to use clear bottles for the country wines that are not going to be held for even more aging, though I always try my best to set aside a few in dark bottles for prosperity's sake. There is something about instant gratification just by looking at the crystal clear wine in the bottle. But since I cellar the wine exposure to light is not an issue and it really boils down to my empty wine bottle inventory.

 

[fishonline]

I usually use a couple of clear bottles for the last bottles I fill from the carboy. That way I can see if I picked up any sediment off the bottom. I save those for topping off other carboy's after racking.

 

[jswordy]

I try to use mostly dark bottles but I reuse any decent bottles I have so there are several clear ones as well. I don't care much about monitoring the color. I check that when I pour it into a glass, unless I drink it too fast then I just pour another one to check the color.

...oops, drank that one too fast, too...



...oops that one, too...



...AND THAT ONE...

 

[Runningwolf]

I have a large assortment of bottles and use the same color on an entire batch. I wish I could just get all clear and dark green. My least favorite is the amber (dead leaf) and blue bottles. Those are the ones I prefer to give away first if I have an over abundance or else I just use them up as soon as I have enough to get them out of my bottle stock. I try to keep 50-75 cases available at all times for bottling.

 

[Brew and Wine Supply]

Use them all, if you store them in the dark, the wine don't care..

 

[Wiz]

My criteria for bottrle color is "free", although I do reject clear for either white or red wines.

 

[REDBOATNY]

I have an assortment of amber/brown, cobalt blue, light & dark green, and clear. My red grape wines almost always get darker bottles and are returned to boxes for cellaring, though I will not hesitate to use a clear bottle for a grape wine like Catawba, Niagara, Diamond, Concord--those sweet & easy drinkers. I do find that I tend to use clear bottles for the country wines that are not going to be held for even more aging, though I always try my best to set aside a few in dark bottles for prosperity's sake. There is something about instant gratification just by looking at the crystal clear wine in the bottle. But since I cellar the wine exposure to light is not an issue and it really boils down to my empty wine bottle inventory.

Exactly! nothing prettier than a Pink Catawba or a Deleware in a clear bottle. Just store them in the case. I like to bottle the Reislings and Traminettes in the tall amber hock and reds in the dark green bourdoux.

 

[tonyt]

For reds the darker and heavier the better for me. Amarone goes on dark green Burgundy. Other Italian/Sicilian in these super dark and heavy deeply punted Bordeaux bottles that a relative gives me. All other reds go in green and darker Bordeaux and I try to match as much as possible. Whites go in amber burgundy style. All my whites go to my daughter and all are returned, she is thrifty. When I give wine away (often) I give those cheap thin light green bottles I bought when I first got started, we all have some of those.

 

[dralarms]

I only have 3 requirements for my bottles, all the same size and color, and clean. I have to store all my wine in boxes and I doubt they will last 2 years from bottling so color should not matter.

 

[skyrat]

Little off topic but just as important as bottle color ..... To keep your wine in good condition it should be stored in an environment that does not have large temperature swings. Better to keep in in the cellar if you have one then say in a garage that will heat up / cool down.

Like others mine is kept in the dark but I also follow the tradition of Reds in Dark Whites in Light.