I've been heat sterilizing all my bottles for wine & beer for the past 3+
years, and have never had one break in the oven. I've also only once had
one break without being dropped (the bottom mysteriously came off a bottle
of Nebbiolo/Cab Sauv blend the day after I bottled once). I would estimate
I have processed well over a thousand bottles this way.

The key is to bring the temperature up and down slowly, because as previous
posters have said the glass in these bottles is not tempered, and thus is
vulnerable to heat shock. Rapid temperature changes will shatter wine
bottles. I place bottles in my cold oven with the mouths covered by foil,
then heat to 200F. I step up the temperature in 50 degree increments, with
at least a 15 minute hold at each temperature once the oven has hit the
target. Ultimate target I go for is 350F, which I hold at for at least 1
hour. Then I turn off the oven and let it cool down with the oven door
CLOSED.

The foil protects the bottle indefinately until I am ready to fill it; I've
prepped bottles months in advanced this way.

I would not recommend burning off the labels in the oven, that would require
very high heat, and I'm not sure what what fumes may come out of the label
adhesive or inks. I soak off the labels and clean out any grundge before
the sterilization, because clean and sterile are two different things.

From a thermal engineer who likes to ferment things.


> wrote in message
ups.com...
> You could.
>
> I would experiment. Minute flaws in the surfaces of these blown glass
> bottles may very well lead to a rapid and catastrophic flaw detection.
>
> (In short, your bottles will explode)
>
> You can buy an 18 gallon tub from Target for 3.99, buy some electrosol
> dish washer detergent (powder) for 2.99, fill said tub 3/4 with hot
> water and add your bottles. Soak for 1 hour or so (put the lid on so
> it stays warm) and your labels and debris will all come off- with the
> bonus they'll dry streak free!
>
> If you're really worried after that cleaning, stuff them in the
> dishwasher for a pot/pan cycle with a high temp dry. That'll do the
> ticket.
>
> And finally, if this doesn't dissuade.you from putting your bottles in
> the oven, make sure that you go thru a very gentle warm up and a very
> very long cool down- you might cycle the oven back on to heat it back
> up so it receives 2 cycles. Even tho glass is an amorphous substance
> you can still get preferential expansion.
>