# How many bottles are in your cellar?



## jumby (Dec 5, 2016)

I'm curious as to the number of bottle people keep on hand in their cellars? Personally I try to keep around a 1,000 bottles at all times. At any given time I usually have about 800 reds, 100 whites and 100 blushes.


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## cmsben61 (Dec 5, 2016)

around 400 for me


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## NorCal (Dec 5, 2016)

Same, around 400.


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## cimbaliw (Dec 5, 2016)

Between bulk and bottle I usually have ~500 bottle's worth. This allows for a minimum of 9-12 month aging with a max of about 2-2.5 years before batch extinction. I am planning on going up to a 750 bottle's worth rotation to push the minimum closer to two years. My thought is to augment bulk capacity to achieve the goal. We are a bottle a day household. Not all of my wines require age >6 month.

IIRC, an earlier thread on the subject had a couple of entries on 1500 and 2000 bottle cellars. Both ended up pairing back as the wines went too long in the tooth.


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## AZMDTed (Dec 5, 2016)

I haven't bottled much in a while, so I think I'm down to about 250 in bottles, with another 120 ready to be bottled and 150 more in other carboys and barrels biding their time.


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## Boatboy24 (Dec 5, 2016)

I'd estimate 350 or so 750ml bottles. 

Plus another dozen or so 'large bottles' (aka carboys/barrels).


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## biscmc (Dec 5, 2016)

I have approximately 200 bottles in the cellar, half of which are homebrew; the rest are commercial offerings. I also have 60 gallons bulk aging in carboys. 

As I continue to experiment with not using fining agents, I'm finding that it takes close to 2 years for all the lees to fall out of the wine naturally.


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## JohnT (Dec 5, 2016)

I'll never tell!

This is one of those questions that has no benefit no matter what the answer. 

If someone asks you that question and you have a lot, then people are going to expect you to supply wine more often. 

If someone asks you that question and you only have a little, then they walk away wondering why you are dinking so much or why they were never gifted a bottle.


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## montanaWineGuy (Dec 5, 2016)

JohnT said:


> If someone asks you that question and you only have a little, then they walk away wondering why you are dinking so much or why they were never gifted a bottle.



Gifting wine is the best thing about making wine. Little effort, little cost, and yet people think its the greatest thing ever. I now have folks offering to plow my drive, gave me an old 26cuft freezer, food, dinners, help with dropping trees, borrowing log splitters, etc. Its incredible.


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## montanaWineGuy (Dec 5, 2016)

biscmc said:


> As I continue to experiment with not using fining agents, I'm finding that it takes close to 2 years for all the lees to fall out of the wine naturally.



That's a long time. Far far longer then what I experience.


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## jumby (Dec 5, 2016)

montanaWineGuy said:


> Gifting wine is the best thing about making wine. Little effort, little cost, and yet people think its the greatest thing ever. I now have folks offering to plow my drive, gave me an old 26cuft freezer, food, dinners, help with dropping trees, borrowing log splitters, etc. Its incredible.



I would have to agree.


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## Johnd (Dec 5, 2016)

biscmc said:


> As I continue to experiment with not using fining agents, I'm finding that it takes close to 2 years for all the lees to fall out of the wine naturally.



Mine are typically done dropping in less than half that time, I degas with a vacuum pump after AF is over, are you doing any kind of degassing before bulk aging?


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## wineforfun (Dec 5, 2016)

Normally between 100 - 150.


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## cmason1957 (Dec 5, 2016)

I think my wife and I are very nearly at the 1000 bottle mark, not including what is bulk aging in carboys.


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## Bodenski (Dec 5, 2016)

I have maybe 10 bottles right now 

And I have 6 different 1 gallon country wines in progress, so with those I'll have a little more. But I'm seriously thinking about making one or two bigger batches. Seems to be the same work for one as it is for 5.


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## biscmc (Dec 5, 2016)

Johnd said:


> Mine are typically done dropping in less than half that time, I degas with a vacuum pump after AF is over, are you doing any kind of degassing before bulk aging?



Yes I degas with a VacuVin Pump for about 30 days prior to bulk aging.


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## montanaWineGuy (Dec 5, 2016)

Bodenski said:


> I have maybe 10 bottles right now



OMG! Tell me these are like gigantic bottles...


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## montanaWineGuy (Dec 5, 2016)

I don't know how many I have. Maybe 200. I don't have shelving. All my bottles are in homedepot bought storage buckets. The hold about 30 bottles and some are very full and some less then full.


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## ceeaton (Dec 5, 2016)

JohnT said:


> I'll never tell!
> 
> This is one of those questions that has no benefit no matter what the answer.
> 
> ...



As I remember, much of your wine is meant for family members who help during the "crush" and at bottling time. So I could see people seeing that high number and make incorrect judgments, as I remember we're not supposed to judge each other unless we are perfect ourselves, and I have only heard of one person who ever dwelt on this planet who was deemed perfect, but he's too humble to ever admit it.

I surprisingly have 261 (750ml = 1) bottles in storage. I have 330 worth in carboys at various stages to eventually bottle. The reason I'm surprised is that as this hobby progresses, my wife and have started to give away way more wine than we consume, which is the way it should be (2:1, give : drink)!


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## ceeaton (Dec 5, 2016)

montanaWineGuy said:


> OMG! Tell me these are like gigantic bottles...



Actually it is a really small person.


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## Runningwolf (Dec 5, 2016)

Under 2000


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## vernsgal (Dec 5, 2016)

I'm around the 500 mark


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## Spikedlemon (Dec 5, 2016)

I have about 100 now. And capacity in the rack for 300ish. 

My wife really wants to see it full and I'm happy to work to that goal... I have only a couple of carboys on the go (one is being made for someone else) so I'll need to step things up.


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## roger80465 (Dec 5, 2016)

Currently, I have about 350 on the shelves and another 150 in some stage of bulk activity. Since I am retiring in May and traveling in our RV, I am letting my inventory decline. At its peak, I was around 650 bottles plus carboys.


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## Bodenski (Dec 5, 2016)

montanaWineGuy said:


> OMG! Tell me these are like gigantic bottles...


Sadly no. I'm just acting like i "love" wine apparently. Kind of like I say we're dating, but wine says "oh no, he's just a good friend."


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## crcarey (Dec 5, 2016)

Sadly just over 100. My goal is 1000, but I just started making wine 2 years ago so I'll get there soon.


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## Johnd (Dec 5, 2016)

Currently, 700 bottles, 14 magnums, 2 double magnums, one 5 liter bottle, plus about 525 bottles worth still in carboys or barrels.


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## vacuumpumpman (Dec 5, 2016)

1 less of tonight - LOL


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## Amanda660 (Dec 5, 2016)

If we'd stop drinking it we'd have a lot more!


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## jgmann67 (Dec 6, 2016)

Amanda660 said:


> If we'd stop drinking it we'd have a lot more!




Here too. I think we've got about 200 in the bottle and another 150 in carboys. I'm thinking I need to make 150-200 per year to keep my stocks at the proper level.


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## FTC Wines (Dec 6, 2016)

We have 750 ish on the wall & in chillers. Another 350 ish in carboys. About maxed out with these numbers. Roy


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## Putterrr (Dec 12, 2016)

i'm around the 400 mark give or take. also running 12 carboys and currently have 7 kits in line (couldn't pass up recent sales). usually make around 20 dozen beer and a cider or 2 each year. told my wife that if she insists we give up drinking, i will need at least 3 years notice.

cheers


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## ibglowin (Dec 12, 2016)

I quit counting.......


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## jgmann67 (Dec 12, 2016)

All this wine and I'm guessing everyone is thinking - "not enough."


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## mikewatkins727 (Dec 12, 2016)

I got 329 bottles, 51 have something in them. Backstage is 2 - 3 gal carboys (Raspberry & apple), 2 gallons of mint, 1 gallon dandylion & 2 gallon of jalapeno (cooking only, too hot)


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## cimbaliw (Dec 13, 2016)

Anybody hiding a "Methuselah" in their cellar?

noun | muh-THOO-zuh-luh 

Definition
1 an ancestor of Noah held to have lived 969 years
2 an oversize wine bottle holding about six liters


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## ibglowin (Dec 13, 2016)

I have 3 "Jeroboam" sized ones. That's big enough for me!


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## Boatboy24 (Dec 13, 2016)

ibglowin said:


> I have 3 "Jeroboam" sized ones. That's big enough for me!



How do you cork those?


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## ibglowin (Dec 13, 2016)

Bought them from Columbia Crest and Costco. Have not opened any yet. All H3.

I found that you can purchase corks for them from Valley Vintner but they are not cheap. Like $4 ea and you can compress them enough with your floor corker to get them inserted partway and then you pound them in the rest of the way with a wooded mallet.



Boatboy24 said:


> How do you cork those?


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## Boatboy24 (Dec 13, 2016)

They fit in the floor corker? Wow.


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## ibglowin (Dec 13, 2016)

The cork fits into the "iris". The bottle is too tall. You have to compress the cork with the iris and then quickly insert as much as you can into the bottle before it expands back. Then use the mallet!



Boatboy24 said:


> They fit in the floor corker? Wow.


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## GreenEnvy22 (Dec 15, 2016)

I have about 100 homemade bottles, another 120 worth on the go in carboys, plus about 10-15 commercial bottles. I'd like to get upto around 250 in bottle at any given time. 

We don't drink a ton of wine just between the two of us, not even a bottle a week. Mostly just open one up for social events and give as gifts.


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## Fran365 (Dec 30, 2016)

*my wine cellar*

I have made 15 bottles of wine and my storage is: 4 reds, 2 grapple and 2 ap-ape. FRan


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## Johnd (Dec 30, 2016)

12 more than there were an hour ago. I took the great recs of @ibglowin and picked up a case of the 2014 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon. Looking forward to a test drive in the next few days after it settles down a bit and gets down to temp.


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## Boatboy24 (Dec 31, 2016)

Johnd said:


> 12 more than there were an hour ago. I took the great recs of @ibglowin and picked up a case of the 2014 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon. Looking forward to a test drive in the next few days after it settles down a bit and gets down to temp.



Ha! I'm actually going to pick some up later this morning. The 4 bottles I got a few weeks ago are almost gone. Brought two over to M-I-L's on Christmas day and they went fast.


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## ibglowin (Dec 31, 2016)

Took the kids to the airport yesterday (ABQ) so naturally made a Costco run to fill up with cheap gas (still $1.99) and look and see what else they had. Perusing the wine racks and low and behold I stumble onto this bin..... 

Damn you Costco. Yes, a few more bottles are in the cellar this AM including a couple of the 2014 CC Grand Estates Cab Sauv. ($7.99)

Fantastic price on everything and I almost ordered this online but never pulled the trigger.


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## Boatboy24 (Dec 31, 2016)

Went to TW this morning and ended up walking out with 4 more 2014 Grand Estates Cabs, a bottle of Indian Wells Cab, Pundit Syrah and Intrinsic (which was out of stock the last two times I went). Also grabbed a 4pack of Dogfishead Worldwide Stout.


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## Dhaynes (Jan 17, 2017)

Have about 300 bottled and another 300 worth in carboys that has been bulk aging about a year and is ready to be bottled.


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## vernsgal (Jan 21, 2017)

I took a pic of our wine cellar with panoramic view setting on the phone and the pic curved.Sure wish it really did!


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