Yes, I am a bottle scrounge. Being incredibly frugal, I can't see paying money for something that people toss out on a regular basis. Consequently I am always on the lookout for free wine bottles. I did have a temporary change of heart. Just once. It was after many hours of scrubbing labels from bottles and at a time when I needed bottles "now". I gave in and had the husbeast purchase 3 cases of bottles from our local home brew supply shop. The bottles were the green claret type and cost $15 per case of 12 (plus tax). That was almost $50 for 36 bottles. And they weren't even good quality. I vowed never again. I am content to hunt down, de-label and scrub used bottles from here on out. The found bottles are of a much higher quality and I get a good selection of different styles and colors. Most are your standard claret or burgundy style and are green, olive, amber or clear. But every so often I come across a bottle of a unique color, shape or size. I have some of these on display in my kitchen window, above. The prize of my collection is the teal colored bottle in the center of that group.
Yesterday I picked up 5 boxes of free bottles from some apartment dwellers in downtown Tacoma. This morning, as I was removing the bottles from the boxes and preparing them to be washed, I pulled out one of the bottles that was much heavier than the others. Because it was full. Of wine. Here it is hanging out next to MexiCat.
Somebody was a Larry Bird fan. This is a Cranberry Shiraz, bottled in 2004. Most likely from a kit. Which means it is well past it's prime. But I couldn't resist sampling and it is definitely drinkable.
No comments:
Post a Comment