10 replies to this topic

[chadt1234]

Is it ok to sanitize bottles one day and then bottle the next? The bottle would be drying on a bottle rack. I just don't have the time to sanitize, bottle and cork all in one evening.

[dagobob]

How are you cleaning and sanitizing your bottles? I use a jet washer that screws onto my faucet; I can clean and rinse 2 cases in about 15 minutes. I let them drip dry for a few hours and then use a bottle washer with Kmeta/citric acid to sanitize. I can do 2 cases in another 15 minutes (hockey intermission or football halftime). Finally after a few hours I bottle; which takes about 45 minutes for two cases.
This is an easy Saturday or Sunday job that leaves me with plenty of free time for other things. But sometimes something interrupts my plans and I have to bottle a day after sanitizing, and I still perfectly comfortable doing so, as long as the bottles are hung upside down on the bottle tree, they will still be good to go.

[chadt1234]

I rinse the bottle thoroughly after soaking in Oxiclean to remove labels. Then I use the bottle washer to squirt in the Kmeta and then hang on a bottle tree. The problem is that I am a one man show. It's the bottling and corking that take all the time but if I can shave 45 minutes off of that it would be a lot easier. I have to do this at night and with kids, a wife and a baby in the house I'm lucky if I get a chance to do it at all.

[dagobob]

I rinse the bottle thoroughly after soaking in Oxiclean to remove labels. Then I use the bottle washer to squirt in the Kmeta and then hang on a bottle tree. The problem is that I am a one man show. It's the bottling and corking that take all the time but if I can shave 45 minutes off of that it would be a lot easier. I have to do this at night and with kids, a wife and a baby in the house I'm lucky if I get a chance to do it at all.

Ah, my wife is my assistant bottle filler (and drinker); she sits on the floor, fills the bottles (to perfection, I might add) and hands them to me for corking (with a floor corker). Since it takes less than a minute to fill each one, I average about 45 minutes. (It would probably be quicker, but I have to keep my wife "primed" with wine every so many bottles). If you are filling your self (which I haven't had to do yet) you can place all the bottles in their cases, filling each one, then do all the corking afterwards. I would think that it will add about 15 more minutes. Don't know if any of this helps in your situation, but sometimes in the wine making process some obvious things get missed, and having someone explain how they do things can result in a "ah ha moment".

[Kabang]

I use one of the http://www.buonvino.com/index2.html gravity bottle fillers, a scissors style corker, and last fall I filled and corked 7 cases (15 gallons) in 2 hours. I think you could get 2 of the fillers going at once if you really wanted to hussle. The auto shut off feature really took the stress out of manual filling. I left my clean bottle in a wine box and then just filled all the bottle in a box before corking. You didn't say how much time you have or how much wine you are bottling, but the devils in the details. Letting them drain and dry over night is probably ok, but I do another kmeta rinse before bottling. Another thought is to investigate adding a drying agent or surface tension reducer so the bottles will drain quickly - in the time it takes to get you syphon / filler setup ready.....

[Hammered]

Since most wineries I know of fill new bottles straight out of the box with no rinsing (sometimes just a blow of nitrogen to sparge and remove any dust), I think if you keep them inverted you'd be good to go to bottle on another night. Maybe just give them a visual to make sure no bugs climbed into them overnight.

[Tomer1]

Since most wineries I know of fill new bottles straight out of the box with no rinsing

Nitrogen doesnt really remove any dust, The way its done in the food industry for example is by compressed air (cheaper then gas) and vaccum when particles are "airborn".
I think some wineries just choose to ignore it and make their lives a bit easier. (one less worker\station to operate or gear t0 buy-in case of an automated line)



It hard to say how effective bottle sanitation with kmeta-citric is or how doing it or not influences possible contamination later on when free so2 levels start to decline.

How many bottles are we talking here? maybe you can make one huge bucket of solution and fill the bottles leaving them filled till the next day, emptying and draining them on the rack a hour before you start bottling.

[chadt1234]

It's a 6 gallon kit, so 30 or so bottles. The one huge bucket idea won't work for my situation. I'll just have to bite the bullet and stay up a little later.

[running wolf]

Since most wineries I know of fill new bottles straight out of the box with no rinsing (sometimes just a blow of nitrogen to sparge and remove any dust), I think if you keep them inverted you'd be good to go to bottle on another night. Maybe just give them a visual to make sure no bugs climbed into them overnight.

This is also my experience

[dinamo]

If you are filling your self (which I haven't had to do yet) you can place all the bottles in their cases, filling each one, then do all the corking afterwards. I would think that it will add about 15 more minutes. Don't know if any of this helps in your situation, but sometimes in the wine making process some obvious things get missed, and having someone explain how they do things can result in a "ah ha moment".

Just had one! I don't know why I never thought of putting the bottles in their case as I bottle...I have just lined them up on the floor and yes...I've tripped over a few. Aha! thanks!

[Doyle]

Someone else on the forum recommended these two items and from my perspective they are fantastic.
http://morewinemaking.com/view_product/7271/103295/Bottle_Rinsing_or_Purging_Base
http://morewinemaking.com/view_product/7272/103295/Bottle_Rack_For_CE970
I have one Rinsing Base and two of the bottle racks. It sits on the top of a rubbermaid storage tub with holes drilled in the rubbermaid lid. Inside the tub is my Kmeta/Citric solution. I have a footswitch operated small pump that pulls the solution out of the tub and sprays it into the bottles that then the bottles drain back into the tub. Probably not a setup for someone only bottling a couple cases but anyone bottling a barrel should give this serious consideration as it is a big labor savings and eliminates that bottle tree with bottles dripping all over each other. Probably should put my bottle tree and its spritzer up for sale as they will likely never be used by me again.