Wine bottle shapes 5-24-2023

Gus Clemens on Wine explores and explains the world of wine in simple, humorous, fun posts

1×

0:00

-4:41

Wine bottle shapes 5-24-2023

What does a wine bottle reveal?

Gus Clemens

May 23, 2023

This is the weekly newspaper column.

Wine bottle shapes 5-24-2023

Wine bottles come in various shapes, sizes, weights, and colors of glass. A quick tour.

Bottle shapes:

• Tall, slender. Wines from Germany’s Mosel and France’s Alsace. Green, brown, and blue glass historically marked regional differences.

• Tall, curvy, often distinctive. Once exclusive for rosés from the Côtes de Provence. Now can be a distinctive bottle for rosé anywhere.

• Burgundy. Curved sides, gradually sloped necks, wide main body. Usually associated with pinot noir and chardonnay, now is used for other reds and oaked whites.

• Bordeaux. Sharply sloping shoulders; main body is not as fat as Burgundy bottle. Associated with cabernet sauvignon, merlot, other Bordeaux varieties and blends. Some think the shape is meant to handle sediment when decanting.

• Sparkling. Intended for Champaign, cava, other sparkling wines. Glass is noticeably thicker, punt deeper. Constructed to protect the wine during production moments like disgorgement and riddling. A “mushroom” cork and a twisted wire closure keep the bubbly’s pressure intact, as does the heavier glass. The pressure inside is 60-90 psi; pressure in the tire of a family car is 32-35 psi.

• Fiasco. Short, rounded wide base, covered with a straw basket. Once the go-to bottle for Chianti.

• Unique bottles. Any shape the winery can dream up and bottle maker produce, from stubby to square to you-name-it. No specific wine. Designed to stand out on a wine shop shelf.

Bottle volumes:

• Piccolo. Holds 187 milliliters (ml), a little more then one standard serving.

• Demi. Half-bottle, holds 375 ml.

• Standard. Holds 750 ml; five standard pours.

• Magnum. Twice as large as standard bottle; holds 1.5 liters. Keeps sparkling wine fresh longer; slower aging for still wines because there is less oxidation.

• Jeroboam. Twice as large as a magnum; holds 3 liters—five times as much as a standard bottle. Ideal for a party for wine drinkers.

Tasting notes:

• Chateau Domecq White Wine, Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico 2021: If you have not experienced a wine from Mexico, this is excellent place to start. Mostly chardonnay with dash of viognier. $14-16 Link to my review

• Duchman Family Winery Roussanne, Oswald Vineyard 2020: Rich, complex with distinct fruitiness enveloped by creamy mouthfeel and crisp acidity. Made in Texas using Texas grapes. $26 Link to my review

• Wrath Wines Boekenoogen Vineyard Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands 2018: Enchanting interplay of black and red fruits. Significant whole cluster fermentation for sophistication and subtlety. $49-58 Link to my review

Last round: With the rise of self-driving vehicles, it is only a matter of time until there is a country song about a guy’s truck leaving him for another owner. Wine time.

Links worth exploring

Diary of a Serial Hostess Ins and outs of entertaining; witty anecdotes of life in the stylish lane.

As We Eat Multi-platform storytelling explores how food connects, defines, inspires.

Balanced Diet Original recipes, curated links about food systems, recipe reviews.

2 Comments

Gus Clemens on Wine explores and explains the world of wine in simple, humorous, fun posts

Gus Clemens writes a syndicated wine column for Gannett/USA Today network and posts online reviews of wines and stories of interest to wine lovers. He publishes almost daily in his substack.com newsletter, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on his website. The Gus Clemens on Wine podcast delivers that material in a warm, user-friendly format.

Listen on