Bottle prep

[zadvocate]

I bought new bottles. Washed them with easy clean and then Rinsed with star San. I then placed them back in the cases upside down. I plan on bottling tomorrow night. Any problem with this preparation?

 

[cmason1957]

That's what I do. But I still give it a spritz of sanitizer and let that drain out for a few minutes on a bottle tree, right before I use the bottle. In my case they might have been in the box for a lot longer, but I do it no matter what.

 

[TonyP]

Not to sound paranoid, but I don't leave bottles upside down directly in cartons. Even overnight, I'd lay down a piece of aluminum foil for them to rest on.

 

[bchilders]

I prefer to use mine the same day within an hour or so of final rinse. I leave them on the bottle tree to drain and pull from there as I bottle.

 

[Johny99]

I use new bottles right out of the box, as do the wineries I've volunteered to bottle at. Reused bottles, I give a scrubbing, spritz or rise with 10% meta and dry on the bottle tree. Into the box, neck down until I fill. I bottle too many to rinse, and pull from the bottle tree.

TonyP, I don't get the paranoid and lay down on foil statement, are they on their side? I must be missing something. Care to elaborate?

 

[Runningwolf]

With new bottles you have to at least rinse them at home. A lot of wineries do use them right out of the box but they blast them out with nitrogen or another gas first. The reason for this is to blow out any glass chard or cardboard dust (yes I have seen both). I store my empty bottles upside down to prevent any critters from crawling in them and dying. Additionally if there is any moisture in the bottle and it is upright that could lead to mold growth. Withing a few hours of bottling I always sanitize the bottles (meta/citric) and hang on trees until I'm ready to bottle.

 

[TonyP]

I use new bottles right out of the box, as do the wineries I've volunteered to bottle at. Reused bottles, I give a scrubbing, spritz or rise with 10% meta and dry on the bottle tree. Into the box, neck down until I fill. I bottle too many to rinse, and pull from the bottle tree.

TonyP, I don't get the paranoid and lay down on foil statement, are they on their side? I must be missing something. Care to elaborate?

Sure. I'd prefer to sanitize bottles then put them away and bottle at another time. But, I don't think I've ever sanitized bottles then waited to use them. So why haven't I done it; because after going through the effort to sanitize I want to avoid the potential for problems. All I'm suggesting is that I don't know about the condition of the cartons - perhaps they contain mold (especially if the bottles may be damp), mites, or something else - so I'd be careful, particularly if I was putting the mouth of the bottles in direct contact with the cartons as the question suggests.

 

[cgallamo]

I take a cleaned sanitized and dried bottle and prepare a sanitation level of potassium metabisulfite and rinse the bottle the instant before bottling the wine. I drain as much as possible.

 

[Runningwolf]

Sure. I'd prefer to sanitize bottles then put them away and bottle at another time. But, I don't think I've ever sanitized bottles then waited to use them. So why haven't I done it; because after going through the effort to sanitize I want to avoid the potential for problems. All I'm suggesting is that I don't know about the condition of the cartons - perhaps they contain mold (especially if the bottles may be damp), mites, or something else - so I'd be careful, particularly if I was putting the mouth of the bottles in direct contact with the cartons as the question suggests.

Additionally there is wild yeast and bacteria that will get in the bottle possibly while sitting in the case.

 

[stickman]

Even though I store the bottles clean, I still like to do a water rinse followed by a sulfite solution rinse the day of bottling. Sanitizing is important, but I also want to ensure all of the basement "flavors" have been rinsed from the glass.

 

[Johny99]

Sure. I'd prefer to sanitize bottles then put them away and bottle at another time. But, I don't think I've ever sanitized bottles then waited to use them. So why haven't I done it; because after going through the effort to sanitize I want to avoid the potential for problems. All I'm suggesting is that I don't know about the condition of the cartons - perhaps they contain mold (especially if the bottles may be damp), mites, or something else - so I'd be careful, particularly if I was putting the mouth of the bottles in direct contact with the cartons as the question suggests.

Ah, makes to my feeble brain. I've never had an issue, but I have a dry climate and only use good condition cartons. Of course there is yeast and mites, etc all over and in the air, but your way would reduce the risk.