Beverage crate with constant-diameter pockets

A nestable crate for holding bottles comprising:

• a floor portion substantially in a first plane and having a plurality of bottle seating areas, at least one bottle seating area being adapted to receive a lower portion of a bottle;
• a peripheral wall surrounding the floor portion and extending upward from the floor portion;
• a plurality of central columns oriented proximate to a longitudinal centerline of the crate and extending upward from the floor portion, each of the plurality of central columns including at least one first bottle-contacting surface having a rib oriented to be substantially orthogonal to the first plane, and a groove adjacent a first side of the substantially orthogonal rib having a variable depth along an axial length of the column, each of the columns having an upper portion having a first width and a lower portion having a second width greater than the first width;
• and,
• a plurality of pylons extending upward from the floor portion along the periphery of the crate, each of the plurality of pylons including at least one second bottle-contacting surface substantially orthogonal to the first plane and a horizontal ledge segment adjacent an outer portion of each of the plurality of pylons wherein each ledge segment is separated by a notch.

A nestable crate for holding bottles comprising:

• a floor portion substantially in a first plane and having a plurality of bottle seating areas;
• a peripheral wall surrounding the floor portion and extending upward from the floor portion;
• a plurality of central columns oriented proximate to a longitudinal centerline of the crate and extending upward from the floor portion, each of the plurality of central columns including at least one first bottle-contacting surface oriented to be substantially orthogonal to the first plane wherein the first bottle-contacting surface comprises a rib substantially orthogonal to the first plane extending along an upper portion of the axial length of the central column, and a first groove adjacent a side of the substantially orthogonal rib, the substantially orthogonal rib and groove extending along a portion of the axial length of the at least one central column wherein the first groove has a variable depth along the axial length;
• and,
• a plurality of pylons extending upward from the floor portion along the periphery of the crate, each of the plurality of pylons including at least one second bottle-contacting surface substantially orthogonal to the first plane wherein the second bottle-contacting surface comprises a rib extending along an upper portion of the axial length of the pylon and a horizontal ledge segment adjacent an outer portion of each of the plurality of pylons wherein each ledge segment is separated by a notch.