New Bottle Sanitizing

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A bit of an old thread. But I agree with

@Rice_Guy : New Bottle Sanitizing

@winemaker81 : New Bottle Sanitizing

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Fifty cents a bottle for new bottles! This must be a very old video. The best deal on bottles I can find right now is about $15 per case of 12, un-punted. I have seen them as high as $30 per case, punted. That makes reusing bottles my choice, although I do have 20-30 cases of new that I purchased before the dramatic increase.

For used bottles, that I get from many sources, I do the following:

1. Inspect and discard bottles other than Bordeaux, screw top bottles, dark bottles, i.e. those where it is difficult to see the bottom, and bottles with a visible residue.
2. Wash the remaining bottles in OxyClean, using hot water and a bottle brush.
3. Rinse thoroughly with hot water.
4. Invert and put in cases to store until needed.
5. Rinse with hot water, spritz with K-meta solution and hang on tree to drain as we bottle. I have my bottle tree on a dolly which I can move from the wash area to the bottling area.

Works for me and never had a problem.
 
1. Inspect and discard bottles other than Bordeaux, screw top bottles, dark bottles, i.e. those where it is difficult to see the bottom, and bottles with a visible residue.
I put the Chardonnay for my son's reception in Chardonnay bottles, and saved enough Pinot Noir bottles for a batch of Elderberry, but non-Bordeaux bottles don't stack well, and take more room to store. Instead of recycling the bottles that are clean (my labels soak off easily), I bottle a portion of each batch in bottles I do not want back. Those are given away, especially when I don't expect to get them back.

I've also got a fair amount of tall Bordeaux bottles that don't fit in most cases, and are a PITA to store. Those also get given away.
 
Fifty cents a bottle for new bottles! This must be a very old video.

Do not focus on the trivial and the transitory. Prices of course go up over time. Price is not the issue. As with all wine making, techniques are the issue. And good, reliable techniques transend time and economics....

Rather focus on the main points of the topic: Sanitation of **new** bottles (regardless of current price -- new bottles are new bottles and can be treated the same -- cost has nothing to do with how they can be treated).

For used bottles

This thread is about **NEW** bottles. So **used** bottle cleaning is.... while interesting and helpful for those with used bottles... it is off topic. :ot::cool:
 
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Fifty cents a bottle for new bottles!
...(snip)...
The best deal on bottles I can find right now is about $15 per case of 12

Going off topic, but doing so to make a point: I can get new bottles for $0.70 each (with a 27% VAT .. so pre-tax rate is $0.55). Prices are relative, and geographical. Which is why one should not be dwelling on costs, but rather on techniques. As I said.

Something to think about.... Hope this helps.
 
Do not focus on the trivial and the transitory. Prices of course go up over time. Price is not the issue. As with all wine making, techniques are the issue. And good, reliable techniques transend time and economics....

Rather focus on the main points of the topic: Sanitation of **new** bottles (regardless of current price -- new bottles are new bottles and can be treated the same -- cost has nothing to do with how they can be treated).



This thread is about **NEW** bottles. So **used** bottle cleaning is.... while interesting and helpful for those with used bottles... it is off topic. :ot::cool:
Oh, okay. For new bottles and just before bottling, I rinse with hot water, spritz with K-meta on my Vinator and hang on my bottle tree to drain.
 

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