Cleaning Wine Bottles

updated 06/15/2023

A common point of discussion is the cleaning of wine bottles, which includes removal of labels. There are many ideas regarding this, and in this post I explain what I do.

A general description of my process is:

1. Rinse bottles immediately and drain, especially if not going further in the process at that time.
2. Prior to soaking, examine bottle for debris, which can include mold and insects. If any are present, rinse well with hot water to remove as much as possible.
3. I have a deep double stainless steel sink in my winemaking area. Run the water until hot, stopper one side, and place 1 full scoop Oxyclean in that side. I use the sprayer to ensure the Oxyclean is dissolved.
4. Alternately, 7.9 gallon primary fermenters work fine with bottles standing up.
5. Fill bottles with hot water and as the sink fills, lay the bottles on their sides so they are fully submerged. My sink is large enough that I can put 8 bottles in it, in 2 rows. If using a primary fermenter, fill with enough hot water to cover the mouths.
6. Soak for 30 to 60 minutes. Some labels will loosen and separate, some need some help, and some will resist.
7. Use a scraper to remove stubborn labels. I use a cheap folding knife that has steel so bad it can’t take an edge. It works well as a scraper.
8. Rinse all bottles twice with hot water and visually inspect for interior debris. Use a bottle brush when necessary. If you can’t get the chunks out, discard the bottle.
9. Bottles that have glue residue can be sprayed with a glue remover — I use Goo Gone. Let rest for 30 minutes and scrub with a clean paper towel. Stubborn glue may require 2 treatments; if it takes more than that, discard the bottle. Wash the exterior of bottles with dishwashing soap to remove any glue remover residue, and rinse with hot water.
10. Drain all bottles upside down until fully dried.

I’ve been using this process for years and it works.

Please note that I emphasize the word “hot”. Hot tap water works wonders, and don’t let the bottles set to long, as the water cools off and the labels are harder to get off.

I used a type of Avery label where the labels peeled off cleanly with no residue. That doesn’t help with bottles that have not been previously soaked, but since I drink mostly my wines, after that the process is easy. However, the labels were a bit on the pricy side, and later doubled in price. I now use labels from onlinelabels.com which are 40% of the price, and come off after soaking 15 minutes in hot water. The glue on these may stick to the bottle, but comes off easily enough when hot.

Some folks use a heat gun to heat up the bottle and label so the glue softens, and the label may be peeled off. I tried this, and it works, but the individual attention required by each bottle is higher than my patience level, so I haven’t tried it again.