The Home Vintner sells a variety of quality wine bottles. We don’t skimp on quality for style, nor do we carry lower-quality options. When you are ready to bottle your wine you should be ensuring that you have the best bottles to protect your hobby and investment. We have had a recent surge in problem-solving wine faults, and many have led back to bottle quality.
The industry standard wine bottle for home winemaking has a neck opening of 18.5 mms in diameter. This size will accommodate a standard #9 cork. There are also many bottles with different neck sizes. You are most likely to discover this when you accumulate bottles from your favorite commercial wines.
There are many different commercial bottles. Screw cap bottles have a very large neck opening, so they are not suitable for a proper seal. Also with screw top bottles, the thinness of the glass in the neck area makes them prone to breakage. Screw cap reused bottles have been the TOP fault. Of note, commercial wineries will often brand their bottles – producing a special bottle unique for their product. These can also result in varied neck opening sizes.
Bottles should always be rinsed as soon as they are empty, so no residue is left. Used bottles may need to be soaked for several hours in a solution of aseptox or diversol and rinsed with hot water to make sure there are no contaminants lurking in the bottle.
Can I bottle my wine with used commercial bottles?
Yes – with caution. Avoid screw caps or specialty-shaped bottles. Pre-test the bottle if you are unsure (with water and cork). For best practice use standard bottles designed for the home winemaking hobby.
