| Ever wondered who the nerd was that decided | | | | became famous for its 800ml bottles, the biggest |
| putting wine in a glass container would be a good | | | | wine bottles at the time. Meanwhile, the town |
| idea? What ever happened to the wine skins used | | | | called Beaujolais made its mark on the world |
| in biblical days for storing wine? Is the shape of a | | | | thanks to its pot-shaped 500ml wine bottles. |
| wine bottle more than just an eye-catching ploy | | | | In 1979, the USA issued instructions calling for all |
| designed to tempt one into buying a brand of | | | | wine bottles in the country to be 750ml. Countries |
| wine or could it provide a clue as to the origins of | | | | in Europe were also deciding on a single standard |
| the fluid inside? Read on for a demystifying piece | | | | wine bottle size. Many countries decided to adopt |
| of wine knowledge. | | | | the 750ml wine bottle as its standard so that it |
| Before the advent of wine bottles, wine was | | | | would be easier to sell their wares in the USA. |
| stored in clay flasks known as Amorphae during | | | | Today, the shape of wine bottles depend on their |
| the glory days of Egyptian wine makers in | | | | contents and their place of origin. High-shouldered |
| Mesopotamia thousands of years ago. Somehow, | | | | bottles with straight sides are usually the norm |
| giving your friends wine as a gift would not feel | | | | for Bordeaux, Port and sherry. Those high bottles |
| quite the same if it were stored in a clay flask | | | | with sloping shoulders are for Rhone and |
| now, would it? | | | | Burgundies. Tall and narrow bottles are used for |
| It was the Romans who first invented glass | | | | Rhine. There's also the Bocksbeutel-shaped bottle |
| blowing and, eventually, the first to store wine in | | | | that is used for Germany's high-quality wines. |
| a wine bottle when it was discovered that glass | | | | Would you believe that Germany also has a |
| did not affect the wine's flavor. As time passed, | | | | popular wine bottle that is shaped like a cat? It's |
| colored glass and different sizes and types of | | | | used for Riesling. |
| wine bottles were used. Among the most popular | | | | Not forgetting the different colors of wine bottles |
| shapes of wine bottle was an onion shaped | | | | available in the market and what they represent. |
| container because it was easy to blow. | | | | There are light green bottles (dry white |
| Eventually, wine makers learned that it was | | | | Bordeaux), medium green bottles (Mosel and |
| better to store wine on its side because this | | | | Alscae), dark green bottles (Burgundy, Rhine and |
| helped the wine age properly. With this, longer and | | | | red Bordeaux), amber bottles (Mosel and Alsace) |
| flatter shaped wine bottles became the norm. | | | | and clear bottles (sweet white Bordeaux and |
| This was how the standard sizes of 700ml, | | | | white wines from Canada, New Zealand and |
| 750ml, and 800ml wine bottles came about. In | | | | Greece). |
| 1945, places like Burgundy and Champagne | | | | |