# Bottling Photos - UPDATED - More Photos...



## tcb54 (Feb 1, 2008)

I did some bottling yesterday; it was the first time I ever bottled more than one batch at a time. After getting all 90 bottles cleaned and sterilized it wasn't so bad. 
Here are some before and after photos that I wanted to share. The wines are (Front to Back/L-R): Muller-Thurgau, White Zinfandel and Argentine Malbec. This isdone in my basement (yes, that's my poker table). I havedecided to put in granite countertops and a big sink down here. This little bar sink just doesn't make it! I will have to build a cabinet under the counter to support the weight of the granite top, and I think I'm going to move the wall cabinet higher up to give me more room. I'm going to put in some kind of tiled backsplash (maybe tumbled Travertine). When I built all this 16 years ago I had absolutely no idea that making wine was in my future.


I'll post some pictures as I get things done so maybe I can get some ideas from you creative folks out there...




























*Edited by: tcb54 *


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## grapeman (Feb 1, 2008)

90 Bottles of wine in a row, 90 bottles of wine. Take one down pass it around, 89 bottles of wine to go..................




I love that last picture. Great job bottling. Be sure to try and age at least a few of them if you can keep them from your poker buddies!


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## tcb54 (Feb 1, 2008)

Appleman, that's funny because my wife started singing the exact thing when she came home and saw that wine sitting there! 


Here's what I'm trying to do with my wine... my wine racks have 9 bottles per row. I'm putting the foil wrappers on this 9 and putting all 9 away for at least a year. I do not put foil on the others so after 3 - 6 months I have started "sampling" a few here and there.


Friday night is poker night (Man Law), so I make sure I have all the bottlesput up before they get here. They remind sometimes of the story of the Little Red Hen. They always ask about breaking out a bottle of wine (or two), but most of them are always busy when it comes to making or bottling.


For those of you that don't know the Little Red Hen story, here it is... Who is it out there that makes up great poetry?Maybehe could make up one of his famous poems based on this story. What do you say?





_One summer day the Little Red Hen found a grain of wheat. 
"A grain of wheat!" said the Little Red Hen to herself. "I will plant it." 
She asked the duck: "Will you help me plant this grain of wheat?" 
"Not I," said the duck. 
She asked the goose: "Will you help me plant this grain of wheat?" 
"Not I," said the goose. 
She asked the cat: "Will you help me plant this grain of wheat?" 
"Not I," said the cat. 
She asked the pig: "Will you help me plant this grain of wheat?" 
"Not I," said the pig. 
"Then *I* will plant it myself," said the Little Red Hen. 
And she did. _


_Soon the wheat grew tall, and the Little Red Hen knew it was time to reap it. 
"Who will help me reap the wheat?" she asked. 
"Not I," said the duck. 
"Not I," said the goose. 
"Not I," said the cat. 
"Not I," said the pig. 
"Then *I* will reap it myself," said the Little Red Hen. 
And she did. _


_So she reaped the wheat, and it was ready to take to the mill to be made into flour. 
"Who will help me carry the wheat to the mill?" she asked. 
"Not I," said the duck. 
"Not I," said the goose. 
"Not I," said the cat. 
"Not I," said the pig. 
"Then *I* will carry it myself," said the Little Red Hen. 
And she did. _


_So she carried the wheat to the mill and the miller made it into flour, and she carried the flour home. 
When she got there, she asked, "Who will help me make the flour into dough?" 
"Not I," said the duck. 
"Not I," said the goose. 
"Not I," said the cat. 
"Not I," said the pig. 
"Then *I* will make the dough myself," said the Little Red Hen. 
And she did. _


_So she put on a white apron, and mixed the dough. Soon the bread was ready to go into the oven. 
"Who will help me bake the bread?" said the Little Red Hen. 
"Not I," said the duck. 
"Not I," said the goose. 
"Not I," said the cat. 
"Not I," said the pig. 
"Then *I* will bake it myself," said the Little Red Hen. 
And she did. _


_After the loaf had been taken from the oven it was set on the table to cool. 
"And now," said the Little Red Hen, "who will help me to eat the bread?" 
"I will!" said the duck. 
"I will!" said the goose. 
"I will!" said the cat. 
"I will!" said the pig. 
"No, *I* will eat it myself!" said the Little Red Hen. _


_*And she did.* _


*Edited by: tcb54 *


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## montyfox (Feb 1, 2008)

Fantastic pics! I'm getting ready for my very first bottling in about 2 weeks. I can't wait!


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## PolishWineP (Feb 1, 2008)

What a wonderful pictures of all those bottles! Bert! WE need a poker table for better pictures!


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## Wade E (Feb 1, 2008)

I guess by looking at that last photo that you knew when to hold them!


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## NorthernWinos (Feb 1, 2008)

Nice spread!!!!


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## PolishWineP (Feb 2, 2008)

THIS is why we need a nice table for showcasing our bottlings.






Bert did this bottling on one of those cold, -20 January weekends, when I was off to the Twin Cities to play. He really is a prince of a guy. 


The wines are, left to right below, Pineapple/Apple/Rhubarb blend, Amarone Mon Diale, German Muller-Thurgau &amp; a Crabapple/Apple. He bottled a total of 19 gallons that weekend.


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## tcb54 (Feb 2, 2008)

PWP,


Those are awesome wines. Let me know when you break into the Amarone Mon Diale. I will be bottling my Mosti Masters Edition Amarone Mon Diale next week. 


After bottling my White Zinfandel, I had a good sized taste left over. I drank it last night. It was one of the best White Zins I ever tasted. I can't wait to taste it in 3 - 6 months!


By the way, the next time I undertake a 3 or more carboy bottling could you send Bert down here to Georgia?


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## PolishWineP (Feb 2, 2008)

I bet with some forward planning and the right time of year, I could maybe get him on a plane... You could have a great bottling party!


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## tcb54 (Feb 2, 2008)




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## pelican (Feb 3, 2008)

PWP, 





The little bottles - look like beer bottles - do you do that with all 
your batches? 


I can imagine that having beer bottle sized to samplealongthe way waiting 
forwhen the aging gets tojust right oreven just good enough would be a good 
and economical approach. 


Just wondering if that's whatyou do with them, or are 
they the giveaways tothose "friends" you wouldn't want to waste awhole 750mls 
on ?????


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## PolishWineP (Feb 3, 2008)

We use the beer bottles for several reasons. They're good for testing to see how the aging is coming along, they're great for when you don't need to open an entire bottle, and they *are *great for gifts! Not so much that we don't want to part with much wine to someone, but they may not be much of a wine drinker, or they just want to try that particuar wine. We've even been known to put wine coolers into old soda bottles and take them with us to public events, like parades. No one thinks much about us drinking out of a pop bottle as we watch the parade going by!


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## scubaman2151 (Feb 3, 2008)

PolishWineP said:


> No one thinks much about us drinking out of a pop bottle as we watch the parade going by!


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## pelican (Feb 3, 2008)

Ok, Cool! 

We do have a bottle capper gadget from some time way back. I'll have to start looking for gathering some beer bottles if they aren't the screw type.

Since I am impatient when it comes to my hobbies - you should see me in the garden! "has it sprouted yet??". I like the idea of smaller Tasting Bottles. 

Thanks for the inspiration.


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## NorthernWinos (Feb 4, 2008)

pelican said:


> Ok, Cool!
> 
> We do have a bottle capper gadget from some time way back. I'll have to start looking for gathering some beer bottles if they aren't the screw type.
> 
> ...




In the last few batches of bottles you guys gave us were some nice beer bottles....I'll sort the best ones out and save those for you.


BTW...we don't need anymore beer bottles....Have a good supply now...Thanks....


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## Tomy (Feb 5, 2008)

Nice group of full bottles. In my story the Little Red Hen goes into the stew pot way early in the story



Tomy


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## Poacher (Feb 5, 2008)

I just about cried those pics are so beautiful.


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## tcb54 (Feb 6, 2008)

Thank you very much for your kind words about the photos. 


I have started my remodeling in this area now. I have torn out the bar/counter and have built a cabinet. I've got it almostall stained and will hopefully be building the cabinet doors and putting on the polyeurethane this weekend.


I have also picked out the granite for the countertops and are waiting on the big honking sink (24" and 10" deep) to arrive so the granite people can make the templates and get the granite cut.


Finally, in the area above where the microwave is sitting (under the "Welcome" hanging with the ducks) I built an additional cabinet that looks like the ones to the left and will put the microwave in it... that will free up a lot of counter space.*Edited by: tcb54 *


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## Poacher (Feb 6, 2008)

Well lets see some pictures of that too. I'm making my stuff on the kitchen table. All rooms are full at our house so this is where I'll be for good. I can only dream of a room like yours.


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## tcb54 (Feb 26, 2008)

As promised, here are some more pictures of my wine making area in the basement... (to see how it looked before, go back to the first post within this topic)... 


This photo is after building the microwave cabinet and the under-counter cabinet for storing carboys, primary fermenters and other wine-making essentials:

















This photo is after adding the cabinet doors and after the granite countertops and backsplash were installed (the countertop is one piece). The sink isblack granite and is 24" wide x 22" front to back and 10" deep. It has a pull-out faucet with a long hose and all this sure made it easy to rinse carboys, buckets and other stuff. Putting in 4 under-counter lights and 4light cans in the ceiling helped brighten up things considerably.


At this point I thought everything was completed:


















As I said, I thought I was finishedat this point. After completing all this on Friday (02/15) my wife and I were sitting there looking at it and she said that it would look really good with some of the diamond/x-style wine racks above it.


We put a mirror behind the middle section and added some glass hangers/holders. NOW, it is finished (I think)...


Here's what we came up with:




















This area works really well for me now. I bottled 60 bottles this weekend - Mosti Amarone Mondiale with Raisins and Swiss Chocolate Almond Port ( the Port in Bellissima bottles). I started a Mosti Pinot Noir and a Fantazia kit yesterday. It was so nice being able to do everything in one place. The old sink (a little bar sink) was so small I had to take a lot of stuff upstairs to the kitchen to clean and rinse). Then I had 2 areas to clean up. Now I just have the one and everything is pretty much together so I don't have to run up and down the stairs constantly...







*Edited by: tcb54 *


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## grapeman (Feb 26, 2008)

That sure is one nice looking area you have put together to work in. Like you sais, it is a pleasure to work in such a nice area. Great job.


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## tcb54 (Feb 26, 2008)

Appleman, thank you very muchfor the kind words.


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## mississippi mud (Feb 26, 2008)

THAT GRANITE IS SWEEEET!!!! Nice chioce...


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## moose (Feb 26, 2008)

That looks like a nice place to work. Looks better than our house.


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## NorthernWinos (Feb 26, 2008)

WOW!!! What an awesome area that is....many of us have to make do.


Thanks for sharing what is possible.....Looking at our unused family room in a different light.


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## Joanie (Feb 26, 2008)

That is so beautiful!!! How nice to have all you need in one place! Wonderful job!


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## Wade E (Feb 26, 2008)

Great job! I love the granite and the extra storage above just adds chrm to the area.


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## tcb54 (Feb 26, 2008)

After having this less than 2 weeks now, I can't imagine how I ever managed without it. I racked a carboy just a little bit ago and it was so much easier than it was before.


We really love the "wine rack" above the cabinets, too.


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## Joanie (Feb 27, 2008)

I have a feeling you will be adding more wine racks before too long!


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## tcb54 (Feb 28, 2008)

Joan, you are right! Today I filled it all the way up with the Amarone and Chocolate Port that I had bottled this weekend. 


I don't really know where else I could add any racks here, so I guess I need to build another rack or twofor my other room.


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## Joanie (Feb 28, 2008)

How about one to the right of your wine room in front of the phone jack?


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## tcb54 (Mar 4, 2008)

I did the next best thing... I mounted a 50" Plasma TV to the wall to the right of the phone jack. It won't store any wine, but it will give me something to do while I am making and drinking the wine I already have.







*Edited by: tcb54 *


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## Joanie (Mar 4, 2008)

LOL That works too!

Can you build a long low rack below it on the floor?


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## tcb54 (Mar 6, 2008)

I was actually thinking about putting one of those electric fireplace and mantels underneath the TV... it should throw the heat out and not up. The heat would be nice but the ambience would be even better. Anyone have any experience with those? *Edited by: tcb54 *


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## rgecaprock (Mar 6, 2008)

tc, looks more like a wine drinking area. Very Very nice!!!!
Love theway everything looks!!!


Ramona


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## tcb54 (Mar 6, 2008)

Thank you Ramona...


It's a wine-making, wine-storing, wine-drinking, poker-playing, guitar-picking, and now- TV-watching room!


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## onin24eagle (Mar 6, 2008)

Poker, plasmas, pickin', drinkin' and watchin' room. I'm jealous, and would love to have a dedicated room in my basement. I'm definitely going to add a spot in the basement to make wine. After only 4 kits, I'm already tired of running up and down the steps, and keeping all the stuff in like 3 places. I was going to buy a poker table, but think I want to get the wine room started first.


Let's see a pic of the plasma...


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## Joanie (Mar 7, 2008)

After 4 kits and you want a wine room? Onin24eagle, I hate to say this but... you are sooo hooked!!!





Congratulations!!


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## PeterZ (Mar 7, 2008)

I just wish I had a basement!!!


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## JimCook (Mar 7, 2008)

Peter,


Didn't you just move to a new house recently? Are basements common in the area in which you live?


- Jim


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## PeterZ (Mar 10, 2008)

I did just move into a new house, but basements are almost unheard of in the south. I think it is a frost line issue. Up north the frost line is about 4' down, and building codes require that the footings for the house go 12 - 14" below the frost lines to prevent frost heaving. If you are already down 5' you might as well go down 8' and put in the basement.


Here in the Memphis area the frost line is about 1" so it is pretty expensive to put in a basement. Houses here are all built on concrete slabs.


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## tcb54 (Mar 10, 2008)

onin24eagle said:


> Let's see a pic of the plasma...






Here you go, onin24eagle, your wish is my command:


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## grapeman (Mar 10, 2008)

I took the liberty of building you a winerack for your room. Now take a fireplace surround and mantel and place aroung the winerack and enjoy the ambiance of a nice rack of wine aging while watching television.


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## Joanie (Mar 10, 2008)

Here's what I built for you!


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## tcb54 (Mar 10, 2008)

You folks are amazing...


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## Joanie (Mar 10, 2008)

I think you're going to need a bigger TV!


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## NorthernWinos (Mar 10, 2008)

Joan....You are so creative......That's a wonderful wine rack, and it has so many nice bottles of wine.....Fits the room so well.

Could you build me a room for making wines????? Just something simple....double sink, storage for supplies, empty bottle storage...maybe a fermenting area and also a nice little aging area would be nice....


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## Joanie (Mar 10, 2008)

Do you have a 120' x 60' room?



There's no way I could fit all my stuff into anything smaller!


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## SmokinDawg (Mar 10, 2008)

Hey I watch old mike and mike every morning, nice racks


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## grapeman (Mar 10, 2008)

Great idea Joan. You used his own design wine racks! They were even at the right angle and perspective for the room and fit so nicely together! Always gotta show us mere mortals up !


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## onin24eagle (Mar 11, 2008)

Joan said:


> I think you're going to need a bigger TV!




I love it when a woman says that!


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## joeswine (Mar 11, 2008)

yes a bigger tv hard to see it from south jersey


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## uavwmn (Mar 11, 2008)

TCB, awesome rule. Put 9 away and sample 9. I may use a similar rule.
Your wine looks wonderful!!!


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## uavwmn (Mar 11, 2008)

Awesome!!!


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## tcb54 (Mar 11, 2008)

Here's the rack I use to keepeach 9 that I am saving (this was in a post that I did a couple of months ago in Wine Rooms http://www.finevinewines.com//Wiz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=5025):









*Edited by: tcb54 *


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## grapeman (Mar 11, 2008)

That's right, I remember it now! But it's full, you better build one for under the bigscreen.


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## joeswine (Mar 12, 2008)

well people i see a lot ofwine out there i guess the next exchange shouldn't be a problem,or do i dare make that statement,at any rate looks like the winter has been productive to a lot of you,great job all around


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