By Claire Holt

The festive pop of a champagne cork, the chinking of newly-filled glasses in a toast, many of life’s celebrations involve a glass of wine. Those with some knowledge of wines will aim to pick the perfect wine for each occasion and serve it in the appropriate glass. Those who are interested in learning more about wine and its history should, however, take a good look at the bottle, because its development was largely responsible for the fact that people today can now simply pop into a store to pick up their favorite wine.

A Brief History Of Storing Wine

Wine has been around a lot longer than the glass bottles which commonly hold it today. It’s unclear when wine production began but it was certainly well established by 4000BC. Glass was only invented around 3000BC but initially was a luxury item meaning that it was too expensive as well as too fragile to be used for storing wine, although there is evidence that glass decanters were used at formal events. By Roman times the practice of storing wines in clay containers was widespread and the Romans developed amphorae for easy storage and transportation. Wooden barrels were another popular choice and were more robust than clay. The invention of the furnace in the 17^th Century was a huge step forward for the wine industry. It allowed for the production of much stronger glass, which meant selling wine in bottles became a realistic prospect. This allowed for much greater flexibility in storage and transportation. Travelers in particular can thank the inventor of the glass bottle for the fact that they can enjoy a selection of wines on ships and later trains and planes, where storing a selection of clay containers or barrels would simply have been impractical.  Today’s cruise ships have become famous for their gourmet cuisine as much as for the opportunity to experience a unique way of travel and for many people achieving the right pairing of food and wine is a crucial part of any high-quality meal.  Indeed in some cruises food and drink is the focus of the trip, as people look to expand their culinary knowledge by visiting specialist producers.

Why Is Glass So Good?

Glass is a great way of storing wine. It’s relatively strong and provides good protection against the elements. Colored glass also gives protection against light, which is very bad for wine. This is why traditionally wine bottles were made out of darker glass whereas wine glasses were made out of clear glass so that drinkers could appreciate the color of the wine before they drank it. Glass also offers much more flexibility in terms of creating individual designs and this became increasingly important in the 18^th Century as people began to become more aware of the individuality of wines and the importance of recognizing individual producers. Just as modern companies pay great attention to the packaging they use and to the message it sends out, so their 18^th Century counterparts thought about the design of the bottles and creating the right blend of practicality, beauty and individuality. It was for practical reasons that the original, short, circular bottles gave way to the cylindrical bottles largely used today. Good wine is best stored on its side and cylindrical bottles were more space-efficient for this purpose. It was also the reason why winemakers agreed to adopt a standardized size for bottles, although this only happened in the late 20^th Century. The reason for this was that even after the invention of the furnace, bottles were still blown by hand and their size essentially depended on how much air the glassblower had in their lungs. This usually meant somewhere between 700 and 800ml. When factory production began, each individual wine-maker ordered their own size of bottle which was usually around this size. As the possibilities for international trade in wine increased, so it became increasingly obvious that it would be useful to have a standard size of bottle and in 1979 the U.S. chose the 750ml size. Other countries simply accepted this, partly for ease of trade with the U.S.

The Right Bottle For The Job

While there was agreement about a standard size, winemakers were still perfectly free to use whatever shape they wished and modern wine bottles are now a combination of art and science. Sparkling wines, for example, tend to be sold in thicker bottles than still wines due to the pressure of the carbonation. Bottles for Bordeaux wines by contrast are designed to trap sediment before it reaches a drinker’s glass. At the same time bottles are still used to identify a particular style of wine or manufacturer, making it easy for time-pressed shoppers to find what they want quickly.