Used bottles -- this is ridiculous

[BobF]

Missouri is the opposite - The state laws make no distrinctions between wine/hard liquor, but it is all legal according to the state.

That probably won't get you a pass from the feds though

In Alabama, the applicable law governing illegal manufacture of alcoholic beverages is Ala. Code 28-1-1, and it does NOT make exception for homemade beer or wine, so all home fermentation of alcoholic beverages is illegal in the state. Under U.S. law, the states can regulate themselves if they so choose when it comes to the production of alcohol.

The person I was speaking with about destruction of bottles owns the 3 largest bars/restaurants in the area. He categorically said he would not save wine bottles for me, nor would he allow employees to do so, and that any businessowner who did so was running a huge risk of being shut down.

I pointed out that one biz was actually advertising used bottles on CL (they are screw top, so I can't use them...they want 50 cents each!). He said if the Ala. ABC finds that out, they will be fined and could be closed. State law does not even allow them to save empties on their premises.

Oh well, I will look elsewhere. I actually live in Tennessee, on the border, so I will see if I can get a place there to save me some.

 

[Ernest T Bass]

As far as I know it is legal in Tennessee, at least I have never had a problem getting them. Find a "Sports Bar" and ask them, another way is to find a wine store that has a tasting bar and see if they will save the bottles for you. If you can find a recycling center near you thats' all you will need, you can get more bottles their than you can anywhere else, more than you'll ever need. I pretty much cull them out now and only get the 3 litre and 4 litre and 750 ml now. I got 4 this week that I had never seen before, they are about 4 or 5 inches tall and probably hold 5 or 6 oz's - real cute. Hope this helps.
Semper Fi

 

[jswordy]

So does this mean that when you make wine at home, you'll have to break your own bottles afterwards?

No, the Alcoholic Beverage Commission (ABC) only governs its license holders, which are places of business like bars and restaurants. In fact, in most Southern states, you can't have a tavern. Your primary biz must be food sales in order to sell alcohol.

 

[jswordy]

As far as I know it is legal in Tennessee, at least I have never had a problem getting them. Find a "Sports Bar" and ask them, another way is to find a wine store that has a tasting bar and see if they will save the bottles for you. If you can find a recycling center near you thats' all you will need, you can get more bottles their than you can anywhere else, more than you'll ever need. I pretty much cull them out now and only get the 3 litre and 4 litre and 750 ml now. I got 4 this week that I had never seen before, they are about 4 or 5 inches tall and probably hold 5 or 6 oz's - real cute. Hope this helps.
Semper Fi

Our local recycling center is very possessive about the stuff that goes in there. VERY! They will not allow rummaging. I'm going to talk around town and see what I can arrange.

 

[SarahRides]

Not too many restaurants have been a big help for me either. Most of them have told me they just smash them in a bin. When I've asked or called, they always tell me to e-mail the owner. I've e-mailed about a dozen places and haven't heard back from a single one of them. I've mostly been relying on grabbing them cheap when I see them on craigslist, or just collecting from friends and family. (I get a lot of my own bottles back again too)

 

[jswordy]

Found out from a local barkeep the law is the same in Tennessee - you are supposed to smash them. But he says they don't always get destroyed when pitched. Says it is illegal in TN for him to save them for me or give them to me, "but they all wind up in the Dumpster." So that was an invitation to Dumpster dive, but boy is that a smelly task at a restaurant.

I did find a nice recycling center guy. I said, "Can I ask you something? I make wine and... "

I didn't get to finish. He stuck his hand out and said, "Take all you want." That resulted in a haul of about 40.

Then we visited Monteagle Winery yeasterday, and I asked there. They sell their bottles emptied from sampling for $5 a case (this seems to be common practice at TN wineries), so I bought 5 cases of mixed bottles there.

This gets me out of immediate need for now, and if the recycling place will continue to let me pick them, I should be fine. Like Sarah, I always ask for my bottles back, but I don't always get them back.

Sure did learn a lot in the decision to ramp production up. I could keep up with 5 gallon batches from friends and my own bottles, but moving to 10s and 15s makes the bottle need increase a lot. Now to process all these bottles - and hope for more!

 

[TwinMaples]

I live in Tennessee but work in Alabama. Couple days ago I put out an inquiry online to Alabama for used bottles from restaurants. Today, I have been told in a reply from a restaurant owner not to bother! It is illegal in Alabama for a bar or restaurant to give anyone their empties of any kind, and they are legally required to smash the bottles when disposing of them, or they could face closure or heavy fines.

I grew up in Iowa, and bars used to have a similar rule. Maybe they still do. I don't know if it was all bottles, whiskey, wine, or whatever, but they had that rule. As I recall, the rule was in force to keep someone from some "creative repackaging", and selling something fake with a brand name label on it.

In today's green world of recycling, full landfills home winemakers, and probably less moonshine being sold (prohibition is over, after all ), it seems like a silly rule today.

Jim

 

[mangojack]

where i live some places will give the bottles to me and other places wont,

 

[REDBOATNY]

If you have wineries in the area, you probably have a bottle wholesaler too. I can buy new bottles from the same place as the local wineries do for about $10/ case with new cardboard. No scrubbing and I can choose style and color. Ask at the winery.

 

[Runningwolf]

If you have wineries in the area, you probably have a bottle wholesaler too. I can buy new bottles from the same place as the local wineries do for about $10/ case with new cardboard. No scrubbing and I can choose style and color. Ask at the winery.

Are you talking about Waterloo? I can tell you I live in the Lake Erie wine region and there is nothing between Cleveland and Buffalo. Most of the bottles come out of Waterloo up by the Finger Lakes.

 

[REDBOATNY]

Yes Dan, Waterloo Container. I guess I am fortunate to have them in the area and my brother lives 5 miles from them and delivers to my doorstep.

 

[jswordy]

If you have wineries in the area, you probably have a bottle wholesaler too. I can buy new bottles from the same place as the local wineries do for about $10/ case with new cardboard. No scrubbing and I can choose style and color. Ask at the winery.

You are very lucky. Retail new 750 ml bottles here are $19 a case and the place that sold them has been closed for a month.

 

[jct]

alabama winemaking

Its not that bad here in alabama. We have legit wine supply stores were we pay taxes on aupplies to make what your claiming is illegal. There are restrictions,but only what you have on hand. What you drink vs what you have on hand should balance out. Its not like its monitored,you can even give away gifts,just dont do it for profit.

 

[Neviawen]

I went to an Italian restaurant here in NJ and asked to speak with the manager. I told the guy my deal, that I make wine at home but needed bottles and he had all the waitresses/waiters save the bottles for a whole week for me. When I returned the next weekend I had 10 cases of bottles waiting to be picked up! A few of the guys from the kitchen even loaded them up in my truck for me. (I guess being a girl helps alot. ) I sent a few bottles of wine and a thank you note afterwards so that they remember me the next time I show up looking for more bottles.

 

[olusteebus]

I have asked a bartender at a local mexican restaurant to save me corona bottles. He said he would. I am gonna go tell him to forget it. Don't want him to get in trouble.

Typical Alabama liquor laws.

Oh well, I guess it is good that they attempt to legislate my morals.

 

[jswordy]

I should follow up on this. I was able to work with my local recycler in Tennessee. For some reason, on Fridays and Saturdays, they get in a large supply of bottles from somewhere, and from that I so far have been able to help myself. As long as staff is onsight, the glass bins are out for sorting by color. So it has worked out well so far.

 

[Bartman]

I agree that it is a goofy legal status in today's market, but I think these US laws came about shortly after Prohibition ended, because there was so much bootleg liquor during Prohibition that didn't get labeled at all (of course). Once we passed the 21st Amendment in 1933, there were a lot of backwoods stills producing cheap swill that could be sold for a lot more if they reused the bottles from the 'good stuff'. Obviously quality control, labeling requirements and product regulation became big issues pretty quick.

Refilling used bottles with lower quality wine is an old problem. There is still an occasional story about expensive French wine bottles having been refilled and resold after the original high-qulaity stuff was emptied. From Wikipedia:

At one such tasting, Rodenstock produced 125 vintages of Château d'Yquem, including a very rare bottle from the 1784 vintage. In addition to holding these extravagant tastings, Rodenstock also sold many bottles from his collection at auction houses, which supposedly regularly inspect and research wines for authenticity. One such lot that Rodenstock sold was the rare "Jefferson bottles", reportedly rare Bordeaux wines bottled for the American president, Thomas Jefferson. American businessman Bill Koch bought four of these Jefferson bottles which were later determined to be fake - the engravings on the bottle that purportedly linked them to Jefferson were determined to have been done with a high-speed electric drill similar to a dentist's drill; technology that did not exist until modern times. This revelation cast a net of suspicion on the authenticity of all the rare bottles that Rodenstock served at his tastings and sold at auctions.[15][16] In 2002, bottles of the weaker 1991 vintage of Château Lafite Rothschild were relabeled and sold as the acclaimed 1982 vintage in China. In 2000, Italian authorities uncovered a warehouse with nearly twenty thousand bottles of fake "Super Tuscan" 1995 Sassicaia and arrested a number of people including the group's salesperson, who was selling the fake wine out of the back of a Peugeot hatchback.[2]

 

[donaltman3]

wine bottles

I have several resturaunts that save bottles for me here in GEORGIA.. I pick them up about once a month... I have gotten so many I now ask them to only save me the green ones in the right shape. I probably have a few hundred in boxes in my storage shed.

 

[missyh]

JS, You may not need this now, but you may be interested anyway. There is a place in Huntsville called Pearly Gates Natural Foods that sells used wine bottles for I think 20 cents each. They sell beer and wine making supplies and bulk herbs and food. This place has been in Huntsville for over 40 years and the lady who ran it passed away several months ago. It has been closed until recently while they sorted out legal stuff and now they are getting it back going and ordering supplies.

 

[jswordy]

Thanks, I know all about Pearly Gates. They have been closed for about 8 months and just recently opened up again with a minimal stock.

I found a great resource for free bottles at the Lincoln County recycling center, but they now are smashing them, so I reckon the ABC folks got on them about it. Anyway, I have about 300 now and probably could get more there if I time my arrival before they smash them. Thanks again.