Low depth crate

A nestable crate comprising:

• a base;
• a pair of opposed side walls extending upward the base, a longitudinal centerline of the crate equally spaced between the side walls;
• and
• a pair of opposed end walls extending upward from the base, each end wall having a handle opening formed therein, wherein the handle openings are offset from the longitudinal centerline of the crate and positioned over the longitudinal centerline of the crate, wherein one of the handle openings is offset toward one of the side walls and the other of the handle openings is offset toward the other of the side walls.

A nestable crate comprising:

• a base having opposed side edges and opposed end edges, the base having an array of bottle capture areas on an underside thereof including an odd number of bottle capture areas adjacent each end edge, wherein the bottle capture areas are at least partially circumscribed by capture ribs and wherein the capture ribs include a peripheral portion aligned with an end peripheral edge of the base;
• a plurality of side columns extending upward from each of the side edges of the base;
• a plurality of end columns extending upward from each of the end edges of the base;
• and
• an upper band portion extending about a periphery of the crate at upper ends of the plurality of end columns and plurality of side columns, a handle opening through the upper band portion at each end of the crate above at least one of the plurality of end columns, wherein the plurality of end columns and the plurality of side columns are nestable within an upper band portion of an identical crate, wherein the crate can be cross-stacked on the identical crate loaded with bottles.