And I was soooo worried..........

[ibglowin]

About not having enough bottles come bottling time next Summer!

I have around 12 friends saving bottles now. Got 50 just this weekend! I am now close to 300 bottles. I will have fun picking the 30 BEST bottles for each batch!

Pay no attention to the cat box!

 

[grapeman]

Sorry, I need to ask. What kind of wine does the cat put in his dish to go with kibbles and bits?








Keep on collecting those bottles.

 

[Big Ike]

Mike,

Now I know why those sauv blancs smell the way they do!

 

[ibglowin]

Chateau Kitty Litre' of course!

Sorry, I need to ask. What kind of wine does the cat put in his dish to go with kibbles and bits?

 

[AlFulchino]

and i bet the cat rubs up against that bottle filler every morning when it leaves its cat house

 

[Dean]

I suggest the fun will be in the cleaning, and NOT the picking

 

[admiral]

I have a view that resembles your picture, Mike. Bottles, bottles, everywhere. Now, cleaning them is another matter. I HATE IT! I have tried a lot of approaches but none take away the sting. I have tried doing small batches, large batches, using the dishwasher, oxyclean, soaking, softscrub, etc. Right now, I have settled on only bottles that have my label on them (comes off real easy) and new bottles. Wine making is my obsession, not bottle washing!

 

[ibglowin]

Yea, the bottle washing/cleaning sucks big time. But I really like the recycling aspect as no one seems to take glass anymore so I get a good feeling out of that. Plus most of my friends buy "the good stuff" so I have a ton of really, really nice (heavy, full punt) bottles to choose from.

I have been doing a fill with hot water and let sit and then shake out, followed by another rinse. I will soak in bleach or oxyclean and remove labels next followed by another rinse with a bottle washer once I get closer to bottling time.

I have a couple of Whites on glass that I will bottle this Xmas when they will be 3 months old.

Since it has gotten colder the winery cat has moved indoors for the most part. I should probably get rid of the cat box to make room for the next batch of boxes/bottles!

 

[Scott B]

300 - wow - looking good.

I have the same type of cat box in the room I use to make my wine.


The cat hairs just gives your wine that special touch!!!

 

[Runningwolf]

Mike, so is the ammonia (cat) to assist in label removal or sanitizing.

 

[ibglowin]

Yeast nutrient of course!

 

[admiral]

I guess you could ask kitty to give those stubborn labels a scratch or two to aid removal.

 

[Darryl]

Hi Mike,
And I thought I was theonly one.....

37 cases cleaned and ready to go...
I have 7 cases that need to be cleaned(brought home form my borthers house)... I also have a few friends that save for me, but most come form a buddies of mine who save them for me at his Italian food restaurant!!!

 

[Brewgrrrl]

Wow. I've only got about 12 cases of empties. Gee, every time I think this hobby is getting out of control you guys put it all in perspective...

 

[Runningwolf]

Well as long as we're all fessing up and showing what we have...LOL, I am at about 65 cases of empties. Yeah Mike you're right, the bottle washing sucks. I have three bottle trees and usually keep those full with clean bottles so I am always ready to go but thats about it. Fourtunatly I live in an area with lots of wineries, so my supply of getting empties from tastings is endless.

 

[xanxer82]

wow I only have 3 cases of usable bottles.

 

[ibglowin]

Wow!

Never thought I would be coveting someone's bottles..... instead of their wife!

 

[Runningwolf]

Forget it you're not seeing my racks!