Quick answer
- Darker glass protects wine from light. Use coloured bottles for wines you plan to age.
- Bordeaux bottles have high shoulders, Burgundy bottles have sloped shoulders, and Rhine bottles are tall and tapered.
- Standard bottles hold 750 ml, with an 18.5 mm neck that fits #8 and #9 corks.
Check Your Bottles First
A standard wine bottle has an 18.5 mm neck opening, which fits #8 or #9 corks. Some bottles are different. Flagon-shaped bottles have a much smaller neck, and some screw-top bottles have a very large one. Don’t cork screw-top bottles. The glass between the threads is too thin to seal properly once the original cap is off.
Check every bottle for chips and cracks. Making sparkling wine? You need heavy bottles designed for pressure, plus champagne wire hoods. Ordinary wine bottles can crack or burst.
Bottle Colour
Colour protects wine from ultraviolet light. Wines meant for longer aging belong in coloured glass, and the darker the better. Wines you will drink soon can go in clear glass.
Bottle Shapes
| Shape | Looks like | Traditionally used for |
|---|---|---|
| Bordeaux | Tall and straight, with high shoulders | Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel, Italian wines |
| Burgundy | Sloped shoulders | Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Chablis, Beaujolais |
| Rhine (Alsace) | Taller and more tapered; blue, green or brown | German-style whites, Riesling, Gewürztraminer |
Honestly, we often use whatever bottles we have on hand. The “proper” bottle is tradition, not a rule.
Bottle Sizes
| Name | Size |
|---|---|
| Half bottle (dessert and ice wines) | 375 ml |
| Standard | 750 ml |
| Magnum | 1.5 L |
| Jeroboam | 3 L |
| Rehoboam | 4.5 L |
| Methuselah (Imperial) | 6 L |
| Salmanazar | 9 L |
A 23 L wine kit fills about 30 standard 750 ml bottles, or about 60 bottles of 375 ml. See 750 ml Bordeaux bottles, 375 ml Bordeaux bottles and 375 ml Bellissima bottles.
Cleaning Bottles
- Rinse bottles as soon as they are empty. It makes cleaning much easier later.
- For dried residue, soak them in an equipment cleaner such as B-Brite 3 in 1 Cleaning Powder, following the label directions, then rinse well with hot water.
- A bottle washer on your tap blasts the inside clean.
Removing Labels From Used Bottles
Commercial wine labels use glue that resists water. What works best for us is a laundry tub or bathtub of very hot water with a generous handful of laundry detergent. Soak the bottles, then scrape the labels off with a plastic pot scrubber and a razor blade. Some labels just won’t budge. Put those bottles in the recycling.
Sanitizing Before Bottling
Sanitize clean bottles just before filling: rinse with sulphite solution, then with clean water, and let them drain. A bottle rinser sprays sanitizer up into each bottle. A bottle drainer holds bottles upside down to dry. Your dishwasher rack works in a pinch.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many bottles do I need for a wine kit?
About 30 standard 750 ml bottles for a 23 L kit.
Can I reuse commercial wine bottles?
Yes, if they take a standard cork and have no chips or cracks. Avoid screw-top bottles.
Does bottle colour matter?
Yes. Darker glass protects wine from light, which matters most for wines you plan to age.
Need a hand with your batch? Call us toll-free at 1-877-668-6160 (Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Eastern) or send us a message.
This guide is adapted from the ABC Crafted Series booklet Wine From Kits: What the Instructions Don’t Always Tell You. Always follow the instructions that come with your kit.