How to Prepare Your Winery for Mobile Bottling Day

A smooth mobile bottling day starts weeks before the truck shows up. Most problems we see on bottling day come down to one thing: something that should have been handled ahead of time wasn't. A label wound the wrong way. Wine that wasn't filtered properly. Not enough staff on hand.

None of it is complicated. But all of it matters. Here is exactly what your winery needs to have ready and when.

Two to Three Months Out: Get Your Supplies Ordered

Start here. Supply chain delays can quietly wreck a bottling schedule if you wait too long.

Bottles. Order at least two to three months ahead of your bottling date. Confirm the bottle shape, color, and closure type match what you've discussed with your mobile bottler. If you're buying bottles from Wine & Beer Supply and using them on our truck, you'll get $0.25 off per case bottled. That savings adds up fast.

Corks, screwcaps, and capsules. Two months minimum lead time is smart here. If you're ordering custom branded screwcaps, build in extra time. When they arrive, inspect them. Test a few corks for TCA taint before bottling day, not during it.

Labels. This is where we see the most avoidable delays. Your labels need to be printed to the following specifications for the mobile bottling line:

• Copy position four (4)

• Wound on a three (3) inch core

• Each finished roll should be thirteen (13) inches in diameter when possible

• Front and back labels can be on the same or separate rolls

• Pressure sensitive adhesive is required (Wine & Beer Supply recommends AT 20 as an all conditions adhesive)

• Labels must be placed on a flat surface or face of the bottle

• There needs to be a 3 to 4 mm gap (roughly 1/8 inch) between each label for the electric eye sensor

If your label rolls are undersized, you may be billed $10 per roll for excess rolls. Get this right upfront and you won't have to think about it on bottling day.

Two Weeks Out: Wine Prep and Paperwork

Complete the Wine Specifications Form. This is the run sheet that tells the bottling crew everything they need to know about your wines, volumes, closure types, and bottling order. It needs to be submitted no later than two weeks before your appointment. This is a hard deadline because it's how the crew confirms they have all the right change parts for your specific bottles and closures.

Filter your wine. Wines that will be sterile filtered at bottling must be sterile filtered (EK) by the winery prior to bottling day. The mobile bottling line provides an additional layer of sterile filtering using .45 micron membrane filters, but that's a safety net, not a substitute for proper pre filtration.

Here's the costly part if you skip this: if your wine clogs the truck's final filter because it wasn't properly filtered beforehand, replacement cartridges get charged to the winery. A .45 micron final filter runs $400. A .50 micron pre filter is $250. Those are expenses that proper preparation eliminates completely.

If you'd rather not deal with filtration yourself, Wine & Beer Supply offers mobile crossflow filtration that can be done one or two days before your bottling date. It's one less thing to worry about.

Adjust sulfur dioxide. Make your final free SO2 adjustments the day before bottling, not the morning of. You want the wine settled and stable.

Check wine temperature. Wines should be at least 55 degrees Fahrenheit before bottling begins. This is especially important for whites and roses because cold bottles create condensation, and condensation interferes with label adhesion. If your labels aren't sticking, cold wine is almost always the reason.

One Week Out: Double Check Everything

Open a few cases of bottles, labels, corks, and capsules. Confirm the quantities are right. Confirm the labels are wound correctly. Confirm the corks aren't damaged. This is not exciting work, but it prevents the kind of surprise that stops a bottling line mid run.

Make sure your staff is scheduled. You'll need a minimum of five physically capable team members on site. Six is better. Here is how they'll be used:

• One person placing cases of bottles onto the unscrambling table

• One person packing filled bottles into empty cases

• Two people labeling cases, date stamping, and stacking cases onto pallets

• One forklift operator (trained and ready)

• The machine handles case taping

You also need one designated winery point person who can make decisions on fill heights, label placement, and wine quality throughout the day. This person needs to be present from start to finish.

The Day Before: Final Prep

Set up the bottling area. The truck typically arrives by 7:00 am. Your staff should be ready to work by 8:30 am. Make sure the area where the truck will park is clear, level, and accessible.

Confirm you have gas for sparging. Empty bottles get sparged with either CO2 or nitrogen before filling. Here's what you'll need:

• One large CO2 cylinder is good for approximately 1,200 cases of cork finished bottles

• One large nitrogen cylinder covers about 500 cases of cork bottles

• If you're running screwcap closures, bottles get an additional sparge, so plan for roughly 900 cases per CO2 cylinder or 375 cases per nitrogen cylinder

Confirm water access. Have a garden hose available for bottle rinsing. It doesn't need to be fancy, but it needs to provide potable water.

Confirm your wine transfer setup. You'll need a hose to transfer wine from your tank to the bottling line with a standard 1 1/2 inch tri clover fitting. The truck carries its own pump and approximately 60 feet of wine hose. If your tanks are further than that from the truck, the winery needs to supply the additional hose.

Also have nitrogen with a regulator ready for transitioning between wines. When a tank is almost empty, you'll use nitrogen to push the remaining wine through the line to the truck.

Bottling Day: What to Expect

The crew will arrive, set up, and run an integrity test on the final sterile filter before any wine is pumped. You'll get a printout of the results for your records.

From there, the line runs at up to 250 cases per hour when everything is flowing. On an average day, our truck can handle around 1,300 cases. A strong day with minimal changeovers can push closer to 1,500 cases.

Every time you switch to a different bottle shape, expect a changeover that costs $150 and reduces output by about 100 cases. Wine or bottle height changes are $75 each and reduce output by about 75 cases. This is why we recommend batching similar bottles together and minimizing changeovers whenever possible. For a full breakdown of what mobile bottling costs per case and how it compares to owning your own line, check out our mobile bottling cost comparison.

The Mistakes That Cost You Money

After years of running mobile bottling, the same issues come up again and again:

Not enough staff. Five is the minimum. When wineries try to get by with three or four, the line slows down because bottles aren't being loaded fast enough or packed cases are piling up. Slower line speed means fewer cases bottled, which means you might need a second day. That's a second $2,000 minimum charge.

Wine filtered too early or not at all. Filtration needs to happen within 48 hours of bottling. If you filter a week early, contaminants can reintroduce. If you don't filter at all, you're paying for replacement cartridges on the truck.

Labels that don't meet spec. Wrong core size, wrong wind direction, no gap between labels for the sensor. Any of these stops the labeler and eats into your production time.

Late cancellations. Cancelling less than 30 days before your appointment costs $500 per scheduled day. Less than five days out is a $2,000 daily minimum. Plan ahead and communicate early if your schedule changes.

Ready to Book?

Most of the work in mobile bottling happens before the truck arrives. Get the prep right and bottling day itself is the easy part.

Schedule your mobile bottling appointment or review the full pricing breakdown. Need bottles, corks, capsules, or crossflow filtration before your bottling date? We can handle all of it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How far in advance should I book mobile bottling?

At least six months is ideal, especially during peak bottling season in spring and fall. Popular dates fill up fast. Booking early also gives you plenty of time to order supplies and get your wines ready.

How many staff do I need on bottling day?

A minimum of five, with six recommended. You'll need people loading bottles, packing cases, stacking pallets, and operating a forklift. One person must be the designated decision maker for fill heights, label placement, and wine quality.

What happens if my wine clogs the sterile filter?

If the wine wasn't properly filtered before bottling day and it clogs the truck's .45 micron filter, the replacement cartridge ($400) is charged to the winery. Pre filtration is the single most important thing you can do to avoid unexpected costs.

Can Wine & Beer Supply filter my wine before bottling?

Yes. We offer mobile crossflow filtration that can be performed one or two days before your bottling appointment. This takes the filtration burden off your team entirely and ensures your wine is ready when the truck arrives.

What label specifications does the mobile bottling line require?

Labels must be pressure sensitive, printed copy position four, wound on a three inch core, with each roll ideally thirteen inches in diameter. There must be a 3 to 4 mm gap between labels for the electric eye sensor. Front and back labels can share a roll or be on separate rolls.