what color bottles
- Thread starter MThor
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bernardsmith
Well-Known Member
Hi MThor, Welcome. I think that you ask a really good question. Others may disagree but wines you intend to age for a long time I would age in dark glass. Wines that are likely to be drunk within a year or two can be bottled in clear glass. Wines that you want to show off their color and clarity , I would bottle in clear glass and wines that are dark and whose color is not something you want to emphasize - I would store in green glass. The critical point is that wine ain't beer and while light can spoil the color of wine over time UV light is not really going to initiate any chemical transformation in wine as it does with the hops in beer... Bottom line - you are making country (fruit) wines and there is no strong tradition that controls how you package such wine - neither bottle shape nor color...
Brett_Bellmore
Me and my better half.
I just use whatever I think looks good, mostly used bottles from Arbor Mist, because that's what we like if we're buying it. We keep most of our wine in a dark cabinet anyway.
I suppose it matters for storage if you like storing your bottles where you can see them.
I suppose it matters for storage if you like storing your bottles where you can see them.
fuelish
Well-Known Member
I mostly make meads (close enough to wine 
). Coming from a homebrewing background, I just bottle it up in whatever empty 12 oz bottles I have laying around, color be damned......I keep all my bottled stuff in a dark basement, so, no problem with it. Dunno how light affects wine, but, keep it in the cool dark, and bottle color is irrelevent...I don't worry about what it looks like bottled, I present mine in a clear wine glass, so.....bottles are pretty irrelevent unless you're looking to physically present a beautiful bottle of something
). Coming from a homebrewing background, I just bottle it up in whatever empty 12 oz bottles I have laying around, color be damned......I keep all my bottled stuff in a dark basement, so, no problem with it. Dunno how light affects wine, but, keep it in the cool dark, and bottle color is irrelevent...I don't worry about what it looks like bottled, I present mine in a clear wine glass, so.....bottles are pretty irrelevent unless you're looking to physically present a beautiful bottle of something
I read about this when I started making wines and found a couple of places that said " Traditionally white wines went in clear bottles and Reds went in green or brown bottles" They all said it really doesn't matter the color of the bottle.
I, for some reason, prefer my whites in clear and reds in green.
I, for some reason, prefer my whites in clear and reds in green.
Captive
Well-Known Member
Here are my rules of thumb:
1) When bottling a batch, I try to use all the same color/style bottle if possible. It makes it easier to keep them together and identify them in the wine cellar.
2) Dark wines don't really benefit from clear bottles because you can't see through the wine anyway; therefore, I use green, blue, or brown bottles for dark wines. The darker glass also helps protect the color, but this is a minor factor since my cellar is almost always in the dark.
3) Light colored wines look fabulous in the clear bottles.
1) When bottling a batch, I try to use all the same color/style bottle if possible. It makes it easier to keep them together and identify them in the wine cellar.
2) Dark wines don't really benefit from clear bottles because you can't see through the wine anyway; therefore, I use green, blue, or brown bottles for dark wines. The darker glass also helps protect the color, but this is a minor factor since my cellar is almost always in the dark.
3) Light colored wines look fabulous in the clear bottles.
fuelish
Well-Known Member
1) True....I try, but, hey, I have clear, brown, and green (recycled beer bottles)....if I don't mark the caps, it can be a mystery...not a bad thing, sometimes...
2) True
3)Absolutely
pumpkinman2012
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Colored bottles help prevent light (UV Rays) from filtering into the wine and making it fade. In worst case scenarios, wine can actually oxidize because of light.
The constant heating and cooling of the bottle will cause the wine to go bad.
I usually use 750ml CG Claret bottles for my red wine and clear for my whites, I try to keep all of the bottles out of direct sun light.
The traditional colors used for wine bottles are:
Bordeaux: dark green for reds,
Light green for dry whites,
Clear for sweet whites.
Burgundy and the Rhone: dark green.
Mosel and Alsace: (both white wine) dark to medium green, although some producers have traditionally used amber.
The constant heating and cooling of the bottle will cause the wine to go bad.
I usually use 750ml CG Claret bottles for my red wine and clear for my whites, I try to keep all of the bottles out of direct sun light.
The traditional colors used for wine bottles are:
Bordeaux: dark green for reds,
Light green for dry whites,
Clear for sweet whites.
Burgundy and the Rhone: dark green.
Mosel and Alsace: (both white wine) dark to medium green, although some producers have traditionally used amber.
