Cheap long term wine storage?

[Berry454]

After doing some research yesterday I found out that plastic PET bottles are not good for long term wine storage. Apparently after 8 months the wine begins to oxidize and degrades slowly. This was a huge surprise to me as my last batch of cellar 7 Malbec was amazing after 14 months in plastic bottles!

Anyway, I don't want to risk my home brew wines so I'm looking for a good long term storage method. I brew A LOT. Hence it's fairly likely stuff I brew now will still be here in 2-3 years of storage.

Glass wine bottles are just so expensive. Literally works out at around £1.20 per bottle which makes doing cheap kits not so worth it.

Any other alternatives for long term 2-3 years storage other than glass wine bottles? I have considered glass jars but they aren't much better in price!

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Plastic is air permeable so very long term storage is not recommended having said that there has been much debate about this over the years in the forum and i still dont know if it was ever proved beyond doubt that plastic is no good.

Why not ask your local to save screw top wine bottles and then get some Novatwist caps.

I bought 48 x 750ml bottles online they didn't cost much and work perfectly with the caps below.


https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...le-plastic-screw-caps-for-wine-bottles.56326/

 

[Pavalijo]

Why don’t you wander around your neighbourhood the night before the recycling van arrives? Or get friends to save their bottles for you?
Am I missing something?

 

[Berry454]

Plastic is air permeable so very long term storage is not recommended having said that there has been much debate about this over the years in the forum and i still dont know if it was ever proved beyond doubt that plastic is no good.

Why not ask your local to save screw top wine bottles and then get some Novatwist caps.

I bought 48 x 750ml bottles online they didn't cost much and work perfectly with the caps below.


https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...le-plastic-screw-caps-for-wine-bottles.56326/

I don't have a local unfortunately. I don't visit pubs whatsoever. And id feel a little strange walking into a random pub to ask them to save the wine bottles for me.

I would be interested to see people's experience of storing wine in plastic bottles for longer than a year. And I would be interested to get some more information on bag in box storage. As in, how long does the wine last in the bags untouched. How long does the wine last in the bags after you start drinking it?

I've heard of people on here using 10 and 15 litre bag in boxes. Surely they couldn't get through a 15 litre bag of wine in a couple weeks?

I would also be interested to know where you bought them glass bottles from. All I can find is bottles from home brew websites for about £1 ish each cork bottles. Or some online wholesalers who offer prices as low as £0.80 on the bottle. But these all have postage costs of £30-£50!!

 

[Berry454]

Why don’t you wander around your neighbourhood the night before the recycling van arrives? Or get friends to save their bottles for you?
Am I missing something?

Errm, maybe because I'm not a dumpster diver? In all seriousness I would feel a little weird walking around a housing estate emptying people's recycling boxes into the boot of my car. Not really something I would be willing to do. Especially with all the identity theft cases in recent years. From people stealing personal mail from bins. I doubt people would assume I was after the wine bottles!

And my friends are not wine drinkers.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Go to your local recycling area often supermarket carpark etc they have bottle banks there which are usually overflowing. Take what you need or just wait there on a saturday morning and ask people for them.
You can of course put wine in beer bottles, coopers beer bottles are 750ml and then crown cap them.

Or get fussy at the bottle bank and collect champagne bottles then you need a bigger bell and different caps for your capper ( this is what I do).

If you can find a hotel that does weddings they will have loads of champagne bottles every weekend and a quiet word you'll be surprised they will often keep them for you.

 

[Pavalijo]

Errm, maybe because I'm not a dumpster diver? In all seriousness I would feel a little weird walking around a housing estate emptying people's recycling boxes into the boot of my car. Not really something I would be willing to do. Especially with all the identity theft cases in recent years. From people stealing personal mail from bins. I doubt people would assume I was after the wine bottles!

And my friends are not wine drinkers.

Around here glasswear goes out on the street in an open top box. I did suggest walking - at night. You could even wear a balaclava if you’re shy.

Maybe eBay then. I saw 27 screw top wine bottles on there earlier at £5. There are chancers on there looking for silly money for used wine bottles, but keep an eye out and you’ll get lucky eventually.

Sorry I can’t help you re plastic, I’ve only ever used glass.

 

[Poochops]

The portion of my kits I want to store longer term I keep in demijohns, I’ll bottle a couple of gallons at 6-12 months depending on the kit and keep the other three gallons in bulk ageing. At some point I’ll bottle the rest and if it’s still improving hang on to maybe a dozen of those bottles longer term. that gives me ages to collect bottles from bought wine and friends saving me theirs, and thedemijohns I’ve bought off Facebook or ebay and never paid more than £3 usually less.
Also any busy restaurant will have dozens and dozens of bottles every Sunday afternoon after a busy weekend, ask nicely they’ll usually be glad to let you take them.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

would also be interested to know where you bought them glass bottles from. All I can find is bottles from home brew websites for about £1 ish each cork bottles. Or some online wholesalers who offer prices as low as £0.80 on the bottle. But these all have postage costs of £30-£50!!

I cannot remember as it was 8 years ago, £30 for 30 bottles posted doesn't sound too bad to me.

 

[obscure]

Go to your local recycling area often supermarket carpark etc they have bottle banks there which are usually overflowing. Take what you need or just wait there on a saturday morning and ask people for them.
You can of course put wine in beer bottles, coopers beer bottles are 750ml and then crown cap them.

Or get fussy at the bottle bank and collect champagne bottles then you need a bigger bell and different caps for your capper ( this is what I do).

If you can find a hotel that does weddings they will have loads of champagne bottles every weekend and a quiet word you'll be surprised they will often keep them for you.

One thing to remember is most of the time it costs money to dispose of commercial waste, a home brewer taking fifty bottles is fifty bottles the hotel or pub doesn’t have to pay to have taken away.

 

[Stevieboy]

I have used demijohns in the past - use a rubber bung and a bit of vaseline to get it right in there... (not particularly cheap though)

 

[RoomWithABrew]

I have used demijohns in the past - use a rubber bung and a bit of vaseline to get it right in there... (not particularly cheap though)

ooh I reckon vaseline is quite cheap.

 

[Stevieboy]

ooh I reckon vaseline is quite cheap.

Not in the quantities I use it!!!

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

After doing some research yesterday I found out that plastic PET bottles are not good for long term wine storage. Apparently after 8 months the wine begins to oxidize and degrades slowly. This was a huge surprise to me as my last batch of cellar 7 Malbec was amazing after 14 months in plastic bottles!

Anyway, I don't want to risk my home brew wines so I'm looking for a good long term storage method. I brew A LOT. Hence it's fairly likely stuff I brew now will still be here in 2-3 years of storage.

Glass wine bottles are just so expensive. Literally works out at around £1.20 per bottle which makes doing cheap kits not so worth it.

Any other alternatives for long term 2-3 years storage other than glass wine bottles? I have considered glass jars but they aren't much better in price!

I buy these clear glass bottles from this shop. I think £9.60 for 15 bottles is a huge bargain! And they're quality as well.

https://brewathome.shop/shop/wine-bottles-clear-75cl-15/

 

[Berry454]

I buy these clear glass bottles from this shop. I think £9.60 for 15 bottles is a huge bargain! And they're quality as well.

https://brewathome.shop/shop/wine-bottles-clear-75cl-15/

Now that's a hell of a deal thank you!!

Works out at £0.65 per bottle. Far better than £1 a bottle and the postage is very reasonable!

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

My pleasure!

 

[TrevTheBev]

"I don't visit pubs whatsoever".

 

[RoomWithABrew]

That bottle price still seems a lot more than free.

 

[Obadiah Boondoggle]

Not in the quantities I use it!!!

May I ask what you use it for other than homebrew?

 

[Obadiah Boondoggle]

Go to your local recycling area often supermarket carpark etc they have bottle banks there which are usually overflowing. Take what you need or just wait there on a saturday morning and ask people for them.
You can of course put wine in beer bottles, coopers beer bottles are 750ml and then crown cap them.

Or get fussy at the bottle bank and collect champagne bottles then you need a bigger bell and different caps for your capper ( this is what I do).

If you can find a hotel that does weddings they will have loads of champagne bottles every weekend and a quiet word you'll be surprised they will often keep them for you.