# How many bottles do you have?



## SIXTO (Feb 20, 2007)

Just curious on many filled bottles you have now and how many, on an average you produce a year?


Reason I ask this is cause I dont know if I am getting over my head.


Right now I have 30 bottles of cab aging. This Friday I will have 30 bottles of Pinot. Next month I will have 30 bottles of viognier. 2 months from now I will have 30 of syrah. I would like to get 3 more kits in a month. 


I am very new to this (wine making). However my girlfriend and I are just having a complete blast. And just keep wanting to make morewine....
I didnt even try my first "aged finished" batch yet. I mean is there ever enough wine a person can have....


Thanks for looking


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## masta (Feb 20, 2007)

The Federal legal limit per the ATFyou can make without paying tax is 200 gals a year with a household with 2 or more adults, one adult it is 100 gals.
I would have to count mine but I would guess I have 400-450 bottles in my cellar right now.


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## smurfe (Feb 20, 2007)

I have about the same as Masta. I do have 75 more bottles (2 six gallon and one 3 gallon batch) to get bottled. 


Smurfe


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## kutya (Feb 20, 2007)

I have about 75 bottles on the rack, and about 95 bottle still in the carboy, some bulk aging, and some waiting to be bottled.


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## Coaster (Feb 20, 2007)

I thought you were asking how many empties you have hanging around hehe. I have about 150 atm.


As for full bottles, I can't keep mine in stock. I have75 full bottles "aging" I say that loosely. I have about 250 bottles in carboys (in various stages). I am trying to build up an inventory but as Tim says, "the Vandergrift Principle of Home Winemaking: consumption always rises to match available wine sources".


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## grapeman (Feb 20, 2007)

I'm at about 600 bottled now with about 150 more in progress. I have backed off making a lot more for a while. My consumption rose with production and I was going through about 1-1.5 bottles per day. Not only was consumption increasing, so was my mass




. I'm trying to drop back to a bottle or two a day now. 


Edit :Oops, I meant I'm trying to drop back to a glass or two a day now. How the heck much was I drinking before if I need to cut back to a bottle or two now



*Edited by: appleman *


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## Wade E (Feb 20, 2007)

I have about 160 bottles and 3 6 gallon carboys bulk aging and just
waiting for it to warm up in my basement so I could start making wine
again. Its just to cold even for a brew belt. Right as it started
getting cold here I was finishing up a batch of Barolo and just to
finish it I had to put both of my brew belts on one carboy.


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## jobe05 (Feb 20, 2007)

I have about 600 bottles onvarious racks around the house and in boxes, awaiting more new racks.


Here is what I started in the family room (which has since become the "Catch - All" for the house since we don't really go down there anymore.








And the boxes








Too many around the house to count..............


But........ Just when you think your getting a head........


Friends will show up!


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## Fly boy (Feb 20, 2007)

I starte last September in this. I have over 150 bottles on the rack, 6 6gal carboys and 2 3 gallon carboys to bottle within the next month. Three more kits to start. I am building an inventory to provide more aged wines later. I take six bottles out of each batch and consume those, leaving the rest to age. From all signs on this forum if the wine sits for ayear the results are with the wait. Hopefully, I will have some last that long.
Consumption does rises with availability. I have also noticed the amount of equipment mutliplies like rabbits!


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## Angell Wine (Feb 20, 2007)

276 minus 1 for tonight, hang on, you might make that 2



*Edited by: Angell Wine *


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## DrtDoctor (Feb 20, 2007)

Man, hearing what you all have on the rack, I have to increase my production and decrease my consumption. I only have about 125 on the rack and 60 in carboys, although I've only been at this a little over a year.

Oh, and I do have about 9 gal. of beer bottled and five gal. in a carboy.


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## CajunTim (Feb 21, 2007)

Wow, I have just my first5 bottles that were just done.



Darn, I sure have a lot of winery time ahead of me to get close to all you.


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## Wade E (Feb 21, 2007)

Its funny, you need to take more time off from work to make the wine but at the same time put in more hours to pay for them! Uggggg!!!


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## pkcook (Feb 21, 2007)

Currently, I'm down to 90 bottles and 30 in the carboy. I recently gave away 3 cases to my Dad and Brother-In-Law. I haven't made any new wine since Nov due to other commentments, but I'm getting ready to start up again.


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## WineNewbie (Feb 22, 2007)

Started this hobby last August, so I'm still building my inventory (and drinking some of it



). I currently have 70 bottles on the rack 40 in Carboys/Jugs and another 30 in a kit that just arrived from George yesterday.


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## Dean (Feb 22, 2007)

roughly about 900 bottles of wine. about 50 are commercial wines that are aging (mostly bordeaux).


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## masta (Feb 22, 2007)

Wow....How bout a few pictures of that 900 bottle stash Dean!


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## NorthernWinos (Feb 22, 2007)

Well...I keep looking at this Post and just had to do inventory...lets add it up together...

72 = 6 cases put away to age
40 = in the not to be drank for 6 month rack
28 = bubbly
91 = various
7 = commercial
= 238

If this counts as bottles...add these

+ 30 = 6 gallon carboy mixed grape
+ 25 = 5 gallon black currant
+ 25 = 5 gallon blackberry
+ 30 = in gallon jugs
= 348 bottles [think that's right...doing some sampling tonight.

Also have some odd sized bottles for topping off...and 6 gallons of Hard Apple Cider started, but that goes in beer bottles.

I did inventory on New Years and had 246 bottles, plus some in the carboys....it seems the inventory always is about the same....guess that means we are almost drinking it as fast as we make it... Must need more carboys...?

Okay, there are still some of you out there who haven't fessed-up....Your turn!!!


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## Wade E (Feb 22, 2007)

If they tell how many they have theyre worried we'll hit them up!


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## Fly boy (Feb 23, 2007)

900 bottles is very impressive. It must look like a fair size wine shop.


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## James (Feb 23, 2007)

Wow! I'm impressed with everyone's stash. I would love to see the pic of 900 bottles. Jobe5, your rack is beautiful. I have about 75 on the rack, 3 batches in carboys and one in the primary. I made the mistake of pausing in my production toward the end of last year in anticipation of the LE kits. Big mistake. It might take me a lifetime to overcome that four month lapse but i'm gonna try. Of course, technically speaking, slowing consumption would make inventories rise, but, as we all know,that economic fact has no basis in wine making reality.


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## Michael Vino (Feb 23, 2007)

Well, consumption hasn't been my issue, But I'm ready for it to be part of the equation just have to wait for a bit of age on the first kit. 


I have 29 in bottle and racking from primary to secondary tonight on kit2.


I think a couple hundred is a nice target. 


Jobe5 I like the wine rack I may have to copy that design into my bar/gameroom.....


What a great hobby.


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## jobe05 (Feb 23, 2007)

I don't know if it's just me, maybe other wine rack makers could chime in, but I could never find a "one size fits all" wine rack, or rack design for me and were I wanted to put it. I found a lot of post, here and on the internet about wine racks and stole some idea's that I thought would work for me. I think I got the idea of insetting the cross members from Masta, The 3 tier bottle stacking per shelf on another thread and the idea of not standardizing my widths on the short little pieces that the bottle goes into due to having many size bottles. So i guess my point would be is to look at would others are doing, see what you like and compare that to what your needs are (or will be), then design your rack, it quite easy. When I build my next one next to this one, I will take pictures and post them. *Edited by: jobe05 *


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## Wade E (Feb 23, 2007)

I agree, Jobe you have a nice rack!




No really what do you mea about not standardizing widths of short pcs.


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## jobe05 (Feb 23, 2007)

LOL....... Glad you asked because I didn't know if I explained that very well. I was talking about those little 1/2" x 1/2" x 9" pieces of wood that go between each bottle. Some racks are a standard with for 750 ML bottles. The smaller bottles will fall through the opening and te larger bottles will overlap them and roll around and not stack very well. So I have one shelf, top on this rack that has closer spacing for those small or thinner bottles (Like my port bottles). One rack that I spaced them further apart for tos wider 2 litre bottles and well made Large 750 ML Chardonnay bottles, and the rest just fit the 750 ML bottles.


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## Wade E (Feb 23, 2007)

Okay I thought maybe you just closed your eyes and screwed them were ever they fell!


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## NorthernWinos (Feb 23, 2007)

These are the racks we made a couple years ago...they work fine for average sized bottles...






There is a larger Burgundy style bottle that is tight fit, but can still get them in there...

The plans were from Ron Hazelton's Site....

http://www.ronhazelton.com/howto/wine_rack.htm

Drawing from Site...

http://www.ronhazelton.com/images/pdf/winerack.pdf



We made 8 racks that hold 24 bottles each to fit on our shelves...we have the racks 2 deep on the shelves...kind of have to make do with the space we had.

Then I use plastic crates laid on their sides to hold other bottles...those work good to stack Bordeaux [Claret] style bottles


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## Wade E (Feb 23, 2007)

Very nice NW, went for the scalloped look. Thats a lot of extra but looks awesome.


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## NorthernWinos (Feb 23, 2007)

My husband grew up in his Dad's cabinet shop and then worked his first jobs with some old masters in cabinet shops...he makes very nice things, but is way too fussy...everything has to be sanded just right...I hate sanding....and after we used an electric sander that had cylinders I was the one doing the last sanding...only with his approval.

The scallops are very nice, and each 24 bottle rack could stand alone in any setting....there are a few bigger bottles that just fit, but the labels get roughed up a bit...that's a tight fit.

I like the wine rack that has all the little boards that hold each bottle....those are very space efficient, and I would love to have one of those too, but our space is very limited....built the house before we got into winemaking, and skimped a bit on the size of the root cellar...crammed as much as we could into a fairly small house....so it goes.

Seems we have enough storage to fit our production/consumption....



*Edited by: Northern Winos *


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## grapeman (Feb 23, 2007)

That is a nice use of space NW. You have a little of everything there. Those Red Taters look really good.


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## Bill (Feb 23, 2007)

Hi Wade:
I have 9 gallonsof mixed fruits and used my new corker
to cork my pear abd blueberry worked like a charm.
Tasted the pear and it sure diffrent from the first taste
it is 6 mo. ( I all most fell off the chair when I gave it a taste
test as it was great) to think I almost put it in the drain


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## Wade E (Feb 24, 2007)

Excellent, glad you like it now. Just goes to show what time can do!


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