Best Wine Bottles for Homemade Wine (Empty Bottles Compared)

Editor's Choice

North Mountain Supply W5 Flint 750 ml Bordeaux Bottles (Case of 12)

New, clear Bordeaux bottles with a cork finish and a flat bottom, made in the USA. They take #8 corks with a hand corker and #9 with a floor corker.

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• 

  Green glass for reds

  North Mountain Supply W5 Champagne Green Bordeaux Bottles (12)

  The same bottle in green glass, the traditional choice for red wine.

• 

  Bulk buy

  North Mountain Supply Clear Bordeaux Bottles, 48

  Four cases of 12, enough for a 6 gallon batch with bottles to spare.

The best wine bottles for homemade wine are new 750 ml Bordeaux bottles with a cork finish, bought by the case. They are the standard size, they take the corks every home corker is built for, and they arrive clean and free of the chips that make reused bottles risky. Reused commercial bottles are fine too, if you choose the right ones, and we explain which below.

This guide compares the empty bottles you can buy on Amazon by color, case size and closure, works out how many you need per batch, and lists the corks and corker that match them. The picks come from the manufacturers' listings and how widely each is bought. For the filling and corking steps themselves, see our guide on how to bottle and cork wine.

Empty Wine Bottles Compared

All are 750 ml with a cork finish unless the row says otherwise. The rows show what each listing states.

Bottles	NMS Flint Bordeaux, 12 Editor's ChoiceTop pick	NMS Champagne Green, 12	FastRack Green W5, 12	NMS Clear Bordeaux, 48	Cobalt Blue Bordeaux, 12	Swing Top 1 Liter, 6
Product
Color	Clear (flint)	Champagne green	Green	Clear (flint)	Cobalt blue	Clear
Count	12	12	12	48 (4 cases)	12	6 x 1 L
Closure	#8 or #9 cork	#8 or #9 cork	#8 or #9 cork	#8 or #9 cork	Cork finish	Swing-top stopper
Corks included	❌ No	❌ No	❌ No	❌ No	❌ No	Stoppers attached
Best for	Whites, rosés, fruit wines	Reds	Reds	A full 6 gal batch	Gifts, mead	Short-term, fridge
Buy	Check price	Check price	Check price	Check price	Check price	Check price

Editor's Choice

NMS Flint Bordeaux, 12

Color

Clear (flint)

Count

12

Closure

#8 or #9 cork

Corks included

❌ No

Best for

Whites, rosés, fruit wines

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NMS Champagne Green, 12

Color

Champagne green

Count

12

Closure

#8 or #9 cork

Corks included

❌ No

Best for

Reds

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FastRack Green W5, 12

Color

Green

Count

12

Closure

#8 or #9 cork

Corks included

❌ No

Best for

Reds

Check price

NMS Clear Bordeaux, 48

Color

Clear (flint)

Count

48 (4 cases)

Closure

#8 or #9 cork

Corks included

❌ No

Best for

A full 6 gal batch

Check price

Cobalt Blue Bordeaux, 12

Color

Cobalt blue

Count

12

Closure

Cork finish

Corks included

❌ No

Best for

Gifts, mead

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Swing Top 1 Liter, 6

Color

Clear

Count

6 x 1 L

Closure

Swing-top stopper

Corks included

Stoppers attached

Best for

Short-term, fridge

Check price

Wine Bottle Reviews

North Mountain Supply W5 Flint Bordeaux Bottles, Case of 12 (Editor's Choice)

The standard bottle for home wine: 750 ml, Bordeaux shape with rounded shoulders, a flat bottom and a cork finish, in clear (flint) glass. North Mountain Supply says they work with #8 corks for a hand corker and #9 for a floor corker, and that they are made in the USA. Clear glass shows the color of the wine, which is why it suits whites, rosés and the bright fruit wines in our recipe collection.

It is also the most widely bought empty wine bottle on Amazon, and the bottle we list in our wine kit guide. A case of 12 holds 9 liters, a little under 2.4 gallons.

Best for: any wine you will drink within a couple of years. Missing: corks.

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North Mountain Supply W5 Champagne Green Bordeaux Bottles, Case of 12

The same Bordeaux bottle in bright champagne green, which the listing notes is typically used for red wines. Corks are the same: #8 for a hand corker, #9 for a floor corker, and the listing is explicit that these bottles do not take screw caps. Green glass filters more light than clear, a reasonable choice for reds you plan to keep for a while.

If you only need half a case, North Mountain Supply also sells the same green bottle in a case of 6, handy for a 1-gallon batch.

Best for: red wines and aging. Missing: corks.

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FastRack 750 ml Green W5 Bordeaux Bottles, 12 Pack

FastRack's green W5 is an alternative to the North Mountain bottle. The listing says the bottles are made from new, unused green glass rather than recycled glass, accept #8 and #9 corks (with a floor corker recommended for #9), and that a full case holds up to 2.3 gallons. Corks are not included.

Best for: reds, when the North Mountain case is not available. Missing: corks.

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North Mountain Supply Clear Bordeaux Bottles, 48 Bottles (Best Bulk Buy)

Four cases of 12 clear 750 ml Bordeaux bottles in one order. A 6 gallon wine kit fills about 30 bottles, so 48 covers one batch with spares for the inevitable chipped neck, or a 6 gallon batch plus a couple of 1-gallon fruit wines. Same cork finish and cork sizes as the case of 12.

Best for: wine kit makers. Missing: corks.

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750 ml Cobalt Blue Claret/Bordeaux Bottles, 12 per Case

Cobalt blue Bordeaux bottles with a cork finish, 12 to a case. The listing is short, but the bottle is the same claret/Bordeaux shape, so standard corks fit. Blue glass makes homemade wine look like a gift, and it is a popular choice for mead and white fruit wines given away at the holidays; our wine making gifts guide has more ideas.

Best for: gift bottles. Missing: corks; color hides the wine, so check clarity before bottling.

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Swing Top Glass Bottles, 1 Liter, Pack of 6

Six 1 liter clear bottles with attached swing-top stoppers, sold with extra gaskets, a funnel and labels. No corker needed, and they reseal after opening. The catch is oxygen: Clemson Extension notes that swing-top and twist closures do not protect wine from oxygen as well as corks do, so use them for wine you will drink within months, for a bottle kept open in the fridge, or for carbonated cider.

Best for: short-term storage and cider. Missing: nothing; not for long aging.

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How Many Wine Bottles Do You Need?

A standard wine bottle holds 750 ml. A US gallon is 3.785 liters, so one gallon of finished wine fills a little over five bottles. In practice you lose some wine to the sediment at every racking, so count on five bottles per gallon.

Have two or three spare bottles clean and ready. A batch rarely ends exactly on the bottle, and a chipped neck found on bottling day is easier to swap than to work around.

How to Choose Wine Bottles

Size

Clemson Cooperative Extension's Basics of Home Winemaking lists the standard bottle at 750 ml, demi bottles at 375 ml and magnums at 1.5 liters. Standard bottles are the easiest to buy and to cork. Half bottles suit dessert wines and sweet meads served in small glasses.

Cork Finish, Not Screw Top

Buy bottles with a cork finish, the smooth neck made for a cork. The same Clemson fact sheet warns that screw-top wine bottles should not be corked, because the glass around the neck is thin and may break when the cork goes in or comes out.

Cork Size Follows the Corker

Clemson explains that cork numbers refer to diameter: #7 for demi bottles and smaller, #8 for standard and magnum bottles aged a short time, and #9 for standard and magnum bottles aged for years. The bottle listings above say the same thing from the other side: #8 with a hand corker, #9 with a floor corker. Our guide on bottling and corking compares the two corker types.

Color

Clemson notes that wine bottles are typically brown, green, blue or clear glass. Clear shows the wine and any haze or sediment, which is useful when you are learning. Green or brown is traditional for reds and filters more light. Blue is mostly about looks. Whatever the color, store bottled wine away from light.

Reusing Empty Wine Bottles

Reused bottles are free and work well, with three rules from the Clemson fact sheet: use bottles that are new or have only ever held wine, check every one for chips and nicks, and never use a bottle that has held chemicals or any non-food item. To that, add the screw-top rule above. Friends, restaurants and wine bars are the usual sources, and a bottle tree or rinse rack makes cleaning a few dozen manageable.

Cleaning and Sanitizing Reused Bottles

1. Rinse each bottle as soon as it is empty, so sediment does not dry inside.
2. Soak to lift the labels, then scrub the inside with a bottle brush.
3. Hold each bottle up to a light and look for residue, chips at the lip and cracks at the base.
4. Sanitize just before bottling, drain upside down and fill the same day.

If washing 30 bottles sounds like more work than it is worth, that is exactly what a case of new bottles saves you.

Wine is for adults of legal drinking age. Enjoy it responsibly.