Wine bottle shortage?

[NorCal]

I saw on the news that there was a bottle shortage affecting wineries. Hmmm, I thought I’d reach out to the two sources I use to buy bottles (25-50 cases / year). One is a smaller reseller, the other a large distributor, where you need to commit to a pallet of bottles. Neither had bottles to sell. The distributor said it was a 4-8 month problem, but would not commit on any future orders because of the supply chain uncertainty. I don’t need the bottles until next summer, but without them I’d have a problem.

Fortunately, I found a fellow wine maker a state over that has excess, which I purchased and need to go pick up. Just wanted to give others a heads up in case you come across the same situation.

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[winemaker81]

Thanks for the head's up. I have numerous people saving bottles for me, so I'm good for bottling the 2020's. I've got 9-12 months before the 2021's go in the bottle, so I'll be looking for more sources.

 

[ratflinger]

Wow, never thought we'd run out of sand

 

[Boatboy24]

Yikes! Just yesterday, I was thinking about getting some.

 

[ceeaton]

Easy solution, just tip the carboy, LOL.

 

[winemaker81]

Easy solution, just tip the carboy, LOL.

An acquaintance, a new winemaker, had a great Niagara at the end of October one year. She brought me a sample in February, badly oxidized.

She and her husband had been drinking out of the carboy since December.

Some how they didn't understand the "bottling" part of the process ...

 

[ceeaton]

An acquaintance, a new winemaker, had a great Niagara at the end of October one year. She brought me a sample in February, badly oxidized.

She and her husband had been drinking out of the carboy since December.

Some how they didn't understand the "bottling" part of the process ...

You must top it up if you tip too much!

 

[Scooter68]

Ah the advantage of using recycled bottles. My only problem is when I get my colors and shape of bottle mixed up and have to stand them in a line to sort it out. EVEN the same exact brand and "species:" of wine will occasionally have a variance in the bottle color or height. MIght be only 1/8 -3./8" but you can see it when they are all lined up. I try to store them all sorted but.... Murphy's law.....

 

[winemaker81]

My only problem is when I get my colors and shape of bottle mixed up and have to stand them in a line to sort it out.

I do the same, sort of. I use primarily Bordeaux bottles, as the labels work on all of 'em, regardless of height, and they mostly stack better. I sort them by case size, e.g, tall bottles go in tall case, medium in medium, etc. This is for green bottles. I segregate the much fewer blue, brown, and clear bottles.

Sure, I have tried to sort by color & shape, but therein lies the path to madness!

Unfortunately I sometimes have to use other bottle shapes, and these are the ones I give away first. If I don't get them back, it's not as much of a loss.

 

[bjoll001]

The guy at my local wine making shop said the bottles are on one of the cargo ships waiting to come into port due to the back up. Unpredictable when the bottles will arrive in port.

 

[Scooter68]

Madness did you say hah had, I have escaped the men in the white coats several times. Not but much but....

Yeah it's interesting when I'm plucking bottles out of the metal bins at the recycling center. Especially when you lean way over, finally get that bottle within reach and pull it up. Looks good, color shape etc. NUTs Screw top.
But again as you say I do have some tolerance for slight mis-matches and with smaller batch sizes of 1 gal or 3 gallons I can usually sort out multiples of 5.

Oh and Yeah I hate those burgundy ones that my tall round top labels wrinkle on no matter how low I place the bottom of the label.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING ONE AND ALL (Even you blokes across the pond on the Continent to our east.)

 

[oppyland]

I'm going to be short some bottles in the next few weeks, so I checked with a local distributor. They have stock, but the cost seems kind of high ~ $1.80 - $2.15 each depending on type. Honestly, I have nothing to compare the cost to since I have always used recycled. Anyone have thoughts?

 

[winemaker81]

They have stock, but the cost seems kind of high ~ $1.80 - $2.15 each depending on type.

The few cases I've purchased have been in the $12 to $15 USD range, so that seems high.

 

[oppyland]

The few cases I've purchased have been in the $12 to $15 USD range, so that seems high.

Thanks - that's what I was thinking. I was hoping to buy local so I could pick them up and save on shipping.

 

[winemaker81]

I stopped at a local winery a few weeks ago and picked up 5 cases of empties. I'll be stopping back monthly or so -- it will cost me $10 for a tasting and I'll probably buy a bottle each time ... which is fine with me!

 

[oppyland]

Yeah, we have a winery in my small town. They will happily give me empties (they won't save them, but they'll give me what they have and don't care if I dumpster dive), but they use the most ridiculous glue to affix the labels - almost impossible to get them off!

 

[winemaker81]

but they use the most ridiculous glue to affix the labels - almost impossible to get them off!

I soak bottles in hot tap water with Oxyclean, removing them when the bottles are still hot. Any residue that remains comes off with Goo Gone.

 

[oppyland]

I wish! The only way I can remove these is a razor blade and acetone. Everything else I can soak and use a plastic scraper.

 

[Chuck E]

I wish! The only way I can remove these is a razor blade and acetone. Everything else I can soak and use a plastic scraper.

Have you tried putting boiling water in the bottles? If the glue is thermally activated, boiling water may soften it for removal.

 

[Boatboy24]

I was at the liquor store a couple weeks ago and while standing in the bourbon section, overheard another customer asking if they had any Gentleman Jack in the back - that section of the shelf was empty. He was told that Jack Daniels and Jim Beam (among others) are having issues delivering product due to a bottle shortage. Sure enough, there were several out of stock bourbons that normally aren't rare at all.