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Things You'll Need 1. Protective eyewear and gloves 2.Bottle brush 3.Oxidation remover (optional) 4.Sanitizing solution or buffered alkaline packets 5.Bottle tree (optional) Instructions 1. Put on protective eyewear and gloves. 2. Mix up the sanitizing solution at a ratio of 1 tsp. to 1 gallon of hot water, or as directed on the bottle. If you prefer, purchase a packet of buffered alkaline, which comes pre-measured for 2 to 5 gallons. 3.Scrub the bottles inside and out with a bottle brush, which is specially designed to get inside bottles. Be sure all the gum from the labels is removed from the outside. 4.Rinse the bottles in the sanitizing solution, making sure all interior parts have been rinsed. 5.Set the bottles upside down on a sterilized bottle tree to dry completely. 6.While it is important to let the bottles dry, it is also important to bottle the food as soon as possible, before bacteria can be re-introduced to the bottles.

Bordeaux bottle Named after the famous Bordeaux region in France, where blends based on the red wine grapes Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are king. This shape is often used for Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and red wine blends. Burgundy bottle A style with lower shoulders and a large base, named after France's Burgundy region, known for world-class Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. As a result, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are produced in this style of bottle throughout the world. Champagne bottle Named after the spiritual home of sparkling wine in France, the Champagne bottle is used for bubbly wine throughout the world. The style has a few variations, but all of them have gently sloping shoulders (the area under the neck of the bottle), a large indentation ("punt") in the bottom to help safely contain the bubbles' added pressure. German / Alsace bottle These tall, thin bottles are commonly used for bottling aromatic white wines made in Germany and the nearby Alsace region of France. You will most commonly find them containing Riesling, Gewurztraminer, or Pinot Blanc. Dessert wine bottle Short and thin, dessert wine bottles commonly used for sweet wines such as ice wine and late harvest wines. They are actually are half-sized bottles (375 ml), used to highlight the luscious intensity and small production of these wines. The next time you're shopping for wine, keep these styles in mind for a quick-take of what might be inside the bottle. Of course, there are always exceptions to these "rules," so be sure to check the label to confirm you're actually getting the style or grape that you've got your heart set on before parting with your hard-earned cash.

There are more than a dozen different sizes of wine bottles, so it makes sense to categorize them as small, medium, large, extra-large, and jumbo. While these categories are not industry standard, they allow you to understand the metric measurements and how many people a certain size bottle might serve. To add to the confusion, when it comes to the extra-large and jumbo system, the sizing system turns to biblical names. While you may never see a biblical size bottle, it helps to have an overview of all the different sizes. Small One small bottle is called a half bottle or a split. It measures 375 ml. The pony bottle contains 189 ml of wine. These names are often used interchangeably but the distinction is unmistakable, that the bottle is small. In Italy, it could be referred to as piccolo, meaning small. The French call it chopine or demi, meaning half. For sweet wine, it could be called claveline or jennie. Medium The medium category holds the most common type of bottle you will see at a restaurant, bar, liquor store, in a magazine, or on TV. It is called a bottle and is 750 ml. Red, white, and rose wines are bottled in this size. It contains about four and half glasses. Major labels and local winemakers ferment and age wine in this size. Most fine wines are aged in this size, rarely put in a smaller or larger size. Large The large size is called a magnum, and it means two regular bottles. It measures 1.5 liters, which two times the 750 ml bottle. Rarely will an expensive or rare vintage be found in this size bottle. Instead, wines that are consumed in quantity are bottled in the large size. For instance, if you are going to a party, it serves nine glasses. Manufacturers often offer a discount on the large size so it makes more sense to buy the large one rather than two regular ones. Extra Large In this category are bottles that the wine buying public is not used to seeing. One is called the Marie-Jean, which is three standard bottles. The Double Magnum contains four regular bottles, is called the Jeroboam in sparkling wines, and the Reboboam in red. The Imperial has eight bottles and the Methuselah in sparkling wine has eight standard-sized wine bottles as well. Jumbo Jumbo sized bottles have biblical names that reflect the fact that these exist largely in stories. A Salmanazar has 12 bottles, which comes to 9 liters. Balthazar is 16 bottles and 12 liters. Nebuchadnezzar is 20 bottles and Sovereign is 67 bottles. The Guinness Book of World records first documented a record-breaking bottle over 12 feet high, but someone else made one that stood over 15 feet.