jim > wrote:

> ....

> I wonder if all the real wine 'heads' have stuck to glass just
> because that is what they have and what they are used to? If
> many have tried Better Bottles and found them inferior, you'd
> have thought there'd be an abundance of testimony already?

I recently purchased three more carboys and had the choice of
glass or better bottles. I chose glass because I use carboys
for long-term storage.

Take a look at conical fermenters. They are either stainless
steel or LDPE plastic. Their advantage is you remove the trub
at the end of the primary cycle and continue into the secondary
cycle without racking. LDPE is more than adequate for this.

Better Bottles are made using an upgrade form of PET and,
to the best of my research, are not suited for LT storage
of 9 to 12 months.

The general problem with PET (soda bottles) is that while it
keeps carbonation in, it does not keep oxygen out long-term.
Advances in PET technology has allowed Miller to package beer
in upgraded PET with a shelf life of six months.

If you are making Sherry and don't care about oxidization,
Better Bottles would be terrific.

HDPE plastics have oxygen barriers, but they are still
subject to breakdown due to expansion and contraction.

The reason very few people complain about plastics is the
technology has not reached the stage to risk a $150 batch
of wine in a plastic LT storage container.

Dick