# Bottle rant (sort of)



## dralarms (Jan 21, 2015)

Everyone around my neck of the woods has gone to 6 to 9 buck for used, and I don't even want to talk new.

Well, my brother calls today and the winery that he deals with had brand new bottles @6.50 a case. I can't clean them for that.

I ordered 20 cases, now I gotta drive 8+ hours to get them but at least they are cheap and I get an excuse to visit with my brother.


----------



## drumlinridgewinery (Jan 21, 2015)

used $1 around here. Maybe less sometimes. Moght as well buy new for that price. I usually always have enough just show up at the back door though. Good friends=Good Times


----------



## codeman (Jan 21, 2015)

New $1.25 retail. I suspect they're under $1 wholesale.


----------



## wine (Jan 21, 2015)

yea never had to buy , but when I started it was hard to get bottles ,first batch was 5 gal ,,, 25 was a lot of work to get , but now I get 3 to 5 a week ,,,,and after a party a few cases and thats free ..... last summer I did a 18 gal and had more then what I needed I know it took me a long time to get my free bottle suppler lined up ,, and yes I thought I would end up buying .. talk to a owner of restaurant that serves wine or bar owner


----------



## JohnT (Jan 22, 2015)

I think that driving 8 hours is far less effort than scraping the labels off of 20 cases of bottles. I always go new. Life is too short!


----------



## the_rayway (Jan 22, 2015)

I got 400ish bottles from the local convention centre. All matching reds and whites from a wedding. So I just slowly work my way through them, and luckily the labels come off easily  The only ones I buy are blue bottles.


----------



## dralarms (Jan 22, 2015)

codeman said:


> New $1.25 retail. I suspect they're under $1 wholesale.




1.25 a case? That's a killer price.


----------



## RegarRenill (Jan 22, 2015)

Pretty sure he meant a case


----------



## wineforfun (Jan 22, 2015)

Same here, never had to buy them. When I first started making wine, a friend of my wife gave me all their bottles. They would have a case every week. I also get all the free ones (750's and 375's)I want from different local wineries around our area.
Sure glad I don't have to pay for them as that would put a damper on things.


----------



## GreginND (Jan 22, 2015)

RegarRenill said:


> Pretty sure he meant a case



Pretty sure he meant per bottle. You could never find retail prices for new bottles that low per case. $1.25/bottle is about what you would pay for a new bottle at your LHBS.


----------



## jswordy (Jan 22, 2015)

The law here makes the bars and restaurants smash them after use. If they give them away, they risk being closed down. But our recycling center gets a lot of whole ones. Beer bottles, too. The guys there consider my reuse of them to be recycling, said I can have all I want. They actually lose money on glass, anyway. I started out buying used from a winery at $5 a case, but that was a one-time deal. All free now.


----------



## wine (Jan 23, 2015)

now I take labels off as I get them ,takes less then a minute per bottle , but if the label is on and it bothers them ,, they don't even get a taste of any of my wine


----------



## oaksfan (Jan 30, 2015)

the_rayway said:


> I got 400ish bottles from the local convention centre. All matching reds and whites from a wedding. So I just slowly work my way through them, and luckily the labels come off easily  The only ones I buy are blue bottles.



Hi Rayway ! Thanks for the warm Manitoba welcome, pardon the oxymoron. I was wondering did you know someone at the convention centre or were you just at the right place at the right time ? Great way to stock up on all alike bottles !

I have 6 carboys I will need to bottle in the coming months, not really keen on buying all new .


----------



## na_zdrowie (Jan 30, 2015)

Restaurants are a nice place to pick them up. If you frequent an establishment or know someone that works there - just ask them to save you bottles.


----------



## the_rayway (Jan 30, 2015)

oaksfan said:


> Hi Rayway ! Thanks for the warm Manitoba welcome, pardon the oxymoron. I was wondering did you know someone at the convention centre or were you just at the right place at the right time ? Great way to stock up on all alike bottles !
> 
> I have 6 carboys I will need to bottle in the coming months, not really keen on buying all new .



Hey there!
A friend of mine knows the shipper/receiver. I'll look and see if I still have his name somewhere. If you are interested in doing something like that, you should call over there soon and see if you can score bottles from the wine festival coming up!


----------



## codeman (Jan 30, 2015)

codeman said:


> New $1.25 retail. I suspect they're under $1 wholesale.



For the record I meant $1.25 per bottle if bought 12 at a time.


----------



## dralarms (Jan 30, 2015)

codeman said:


> For the record I meant $1.25 per bottle if bought 12 at a time.





Wow. That's about what they want here for new.


----------



## Boatboy24 (Jan 31, 2015)

codeman said:


> For the record I meant $1.25 per bottle if bought 12 at a time.



I just ordered 3 cases from Shore Container this week. $59 delivered. That comes to about $1.66/bottle. Not cheap, but I'll re-use them at least a few times. 

I got hooked up with a local winery a year and a half ago who had over ordered bottles and was selling for $4/case new. I filled the car up that day.


----------



## dralarms (Jan 31, 2015)

Boatboy24 said:


> I just ordered 3 cases from Shore Container this week. $59 delivered. That comes to about $1.66/bottle. Not cheap, but I'll re-use them at least a few times.
> 
> I got hooked up with a local winery a year and a half ago who had over ordered bottles and was selling for $4/case new. I filled the car up that day.



I would have too, 2 or 3 times.


----------



## willie (Jan 31, 2015)

Paid $12 and change at my local. Bought two cases and haven't needed to buy any more sense folks found out I reuse. Have plenty now. 

Will


----------



## Fsim (Feb 1, 2015)

The never ending saga of bottles and label removal! It's funny every one has their own little twist where to buy and how to remove labels. I used to get the bottles from our local Vendemmia Festival, 50 cases for free but the label removal process was a pain. So now my brother and I along with our Wine Guild make a deal with our local wine store to buy 100 cases of new bottles for 9.50 per case. That my friend is the best way to go if you have the ability to buy with others and play let's make a deal.


----------



## wpt-me (Feb 2, 2015)

In Maine everything goes to a redemption center with a .15 
cent deposit on them. Last time buy I got them for .19 cents
each. Rossi gal - 1.50 ml any size.

Bill


----------



## Bergmann (Feb 7, 2015)

I bought all mine New, shipped to my door, When Midwest or northern or someone has free shipping I just buy like 20 cases..


----------



## oreoman (Feb 7, 2015)

Wow-- I hope my LHBS doesn't find out those exorbitant prices you pay!! He always has 2 cases for $20!!


----------



## quiltertoo (Feb 10, 2015)

*screw top bottles*

I have a lot of bottles given to me. I have not used any of the ones that had screw tops. Can they be used with corks? What size? Can you buy new screw tops that fit? I bought a pkg. of plastic screw tops and a pkg. of metal screw tops and neither fit.


----------



## GaDawg (Feb 10, 2015)

At the local wine shop they sell for $12 a case, but at a winery just across the state line they are $8 a case. What I get from friends and family are free , sort of


----------



## sour_grapes (Feb 10, 2015)

quiltertoo said:


> I have a lot of bottles given to me. I have not used any of the ones that had screw tops. Can they be used with corks? What size? Can you buy new screw tops that fit? I bought a pkg. of plastic screw tops and a pkg. of metal screw tops and neither fit.



Well, at least you got a bunch of bottles. However, in answer to your question about screw tops:

Short answer: No, don't use screw tops. 
Long answer: See http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f83/dont-cork-screwcaps-photo-37761/


----------



## RedPlanetWinery (Feb 11, 2015)

If you have to buy, consider searching for a glass wholesaler in your area. I found one (Waterloo Container) less than two hours away from me who sells 'transition' bottles (when they have them) for <$6/case and standard bottles for <$9/case (might even have been <$8). They also carry carboys. They also deal with bottle packaging so I was able to get 2-bottle cardboard carriers which the wife decorated and we used for gift boxes.


----------



## kevinlfifer (Feb 11, 2015)

After making wine for 3 years now bottles show up at the door. I have 50 cases of empties. I tell all the friends who save for me "If they're not rinsed you don't get a full bottle!" So if anyone in NW OH needs a few cases your welcome to come get some.


----------

