{"id":3374,"date":"2010-10-01T18:34:27","date_gmt":"2010-10-01T22:34:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hagarty-on-wine.com\/OnWineBlog\/?p=3374"},"modified":"2010-11-28T16:27:27","modified_gmt":"2010-11-28T20:27:27","slug":"the-ubiquitous-wine-bottle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hagarty-on-wine.com\/OnWineBlog\/the-ubiquitous-wine-bottle\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ubiquitous Wine Bottle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Billions Are used Annually\u00a0 but Humble Vessel\u00a0has Fascinating Past <\/strong><\/p>\n

In the mid-1600s, the Dutch produced square wine bottles similar to our traditional olive oil bottles of today.\u00a0 It enabled wine to be stored and shipped more efficiently.\u00a0 But for some unknown reason the idea went down a rabbit hole and was never heard from again.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s getting ahead of our story.<\/p>\n

Glass was in use during the Roman times but was rare and expensive.\u00a0 The Romans even used cork occasionally to seal such containers but with the collapse of the empire the technology would not be rediscovered until the 1600s.\u00a0 The second time around its advantages was so obvious that the marriage of bottle & cork continues to enjoy a passionate relationship to this day.<\/p>\n

Fact is, without a wine bottle sealed with an almost airtight closure, wine could not age or blossom into something greater than its original self.\u00a0 During the long history of wine production—some 9,000 years—the libation had to be enjoyed within in a year of its production.\u00a0 If it wasn\u2019t, it would be quickly consumed by a variety of nasty bacteria rather than thirsty humans.\u00a0 \u201cDrink up\u201d had a very real meaning in the good old days.\u00a0 The stuff tasted terrible after a year or so.<\/p>\n

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Wine Bottles---Then & Now<\/p><\/div>\n

When the bottle was first widely adopted, it was used mainly to convey wine from the cask to the table. Its shape was similar to a large light bulb with a flat bottom.\u00a0 During its evolution it was first known as the \u201cglobe and spike\u201d and then the \u201conion,\u201d rather perfect descriptions of their actual shapes.\u00a0 Over time, the bulbous shape was drawn out and made thinner and longer to enhance the storage capability of the bottles.<\/p>\n

Early versions of wine bottles produced in Italy were quite fragile and thus wrapped in straw, wicker or leather baskets to protect them during shipping.\u00a0 The word \u201cfiasco\u201d in Italian means flask or bottle but it morphed into \u201cfailure\u201d when cheap glass resulted in wine bottle breakage.\u00a0 Truly, a real fiasco.<\/p>\n

Tradition Rules<\/strong><\/p>\n

The wine bottle is so laden with tradition that some of its features are still uselessly built into its design.\u00a0 For example, the \u201cpunt\u201d, or indented part of the bottom of each bottle, was originally where the blowpipe was attached to the molten glass during its production.\u00a0 As a glassmaker finished each bottle, he spun it and indented the hot glass to disengage his pipe from the vessel.\u00a0 This created a firm base and an area where sediment could be captured.<\/p>\n

Today, there\u2019s no significant reason for the punt\u2019s existence other than the traditional look it provides a wine bottle.\u00a0 Interestingly, one wine analysis revealed that the deeper the punt the higher the quality of wine (caution: don\u2019t faithfully take this advice to the bank, uh, wine shop.\u00a0 It was only one study).\u00a0 But if it\u2019s true, most likely the reason is that winemakers who charge big bucks for their product want to\u00a0 consumers \u201cfeel\u201d they are getting their money\u2019s worth.\u00a0 In other words, the deeper your pockets the deeper the punts.<\/p>\n

Another feature of the modern bottle that dates to three hundred years ago is the capsule.\u00a0 This is the tin sleeve at the top of each bottle.\u00a0 Its origins was born out of necessity when uncapped bottles were exposed to weevils and rodents that ate their way through the corks in dank cellars, exposing the wine to damaging oxygen.\u00a0 The capsule was a protective measure and surely irritated a host of little critters intent on living off of the tasty cork.\u00a0 Today, the only purpose the capsule serves is cosmetic.\u00a0 It makes the finished product look\u2026er, finished.<\/p>\n

There is no date certain when folks actually began sticking a cork in a wine bottle.\u00a0 The late 1600s seems to be when it began gaining wider acceptance in the marketplace.\u00a0 Nonetheless, in 1598 Shakespeare penned the following words for Rosalind in his play As you Like It<\/em>:\u00a0 \u201cI pray thee take thy cork out of thy mouth, that I may drink thy tidings.\u201d\u00a0 Clearly, even then the cork was being inserted in other openings than just the mouth.\u00a0 We\u2019ll assume it included wine bottles.<\/p>\n

Name that Bottle<\/strong>
\nPerhaps one of the more fascinating pieces of bottle lore was the naming many of the various sized bottles for biblical characters.\u00a0 To this day the historical names are still in use.\u00a0 A \u201cJeroboam\u201d—named after the First King of Northern Kingdom—contains three liters.\u00a0 Other names employed for obscure reasons were Methuselah, Mordechai, Salmanazar, Balthazar and Nebuchadnezzar.\u00a0 The eleventh bottle in the long list is appropriately called Solomon—the King of Israel, Son of David.\u00a0 And it would be a decision worthy of Solomon to consume its contents in one sitting since it holds 20 liters—or 676 ounces—of the transformed grape.<\/p>\n

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Happiness Spent!<\/p><\/div>\n

Over the centuries, the shapes of wine bottles have evolved into four basic sizes, each containing 750 milliliters or 25.6 ounces.<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Bordeaux<\/strong>:<\/strong> straight-sided and high shouldered with a pronounced punt.\u00a0 Normally used for reds, except Pinot noir.<\/li>\n
  • Burgundy<\/strong>:<\/strong> fuller bodied with sloping shoulders. Many whites and one red call these bottles home, especially Chardonnay and Pinot noir.<\/li>\n
  • Rhine<\/strong> or Hock:<\/strong> Tall, narrow and with a flat bottom.\u00a0 German Rieslings and many off-dry wines are housed in these sleek vessels.<\/li>\n
  • Champagne<\/strong>: <\/strong>Thick-walled and wide with a deep, pronounced punt and sloping shoulder.\u00a0 These bottles must be sturdy to withstand the pressure of the naturally carbonated liquid.\u00a0 An unimpeded cork leaving a champagne bottle is traveling at over 50 MPH.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    So with over three hundred years of history bottled up in the traditional wine receptacle, can we expect it to endure for centuries more?\u00a0 Not necessarily. Even as we peacefully sip our Sauvignon Blanc, creative minds are planning a possible overthrow of the glass bottle.<\/p>\n

    A small but growing segment of producers are beginning to use plastic.\u00a0 The weight of such containers are dramatically less than glass and are cheaper to make and ship, taking up to 20% less storage space.\u00a0 The bag-in-the-box technology is also advancing, with sleeker, more attractive packaging designs catching the eye of younger consumers.\u00a0 And there is Tetra Pak technology—used in packaging soy milk and chicken stock—that some vintners are also eyeing.\u00a0 Many of these innovative materials can also be shaped into square containers—just like milk—enhancing storage and shipping capabilities.<\/p>\n

    But hey, wait a minute. Didn\u2019t somebody already think of the square wine container back in the 1600s?<\/p>\n

    Hmmmm\u2026what goes around comes around.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Published in the Culpeper Times.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Billions Are used Annually\u00a0 but Humble Vessel\u00a0has Fascinating Past In the mid-1600s, the Dutch produced square wine bottles similar to our traditional olive oil bottles of today.\u00a0 It enabled wine to be stored and shipped more efficiently.\u00a0 But for some unknown reason the idea went down a rabbit hole and was never heard from again. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[16,197,194,195,172,196,161],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n