The secrets of wine bottles are so complete!

Why is the standard bottle 750ML?

In the 17th century, Britain was the largest wine importer in Bordeaux, France. The two countries used different measurement units. Britain used gallons and France used liters. 1 gallon is about 4.546 liters. For the convenience of calculation, people unified the transportation unit to 50 gallons, which is 225 liters.

Later, in order to meet the needs of international trade, the standardization of wine bottle shapes became a general trend. In order to get a convenient integer, the Bordeaux people divided a 225-liter oak barrel of wine into 300 bottles, and the capacity of one bottle was 750 ml.

Part 02

Why does wine have multiple bottle shapes?

In the early days, wine bottles were mostly hand-blown and the shape was not very stable. In the 18th century, wine bottles began to be manufactured using molds, which could have consistent shapes and bottlenecks.

According to the style characteristics of the production area and grape varieties, people have developed various bottle shapes, such as Bordeaux bottles, Burgundy bottles, champagne bottles, etc., and they are still used today.

Under the premise that the winemaker has ideas and the budget allows, some wineries now also choose to customize the bottle shape.

Part 03

Why are most bottles dark?

Wine bottles are made by heating quartz sand at high temperatures, and the color is formed by adding minerals such as iron (brown, green, etc.).

Dark wine bottles can effectively protect wine from UV radiation.

Part 04

What is the role of the weight of the wine bottle?

In addition to the material, the weight of the wine bottle is mostly determined by the thickness. It is sometimes necessary to have a thick bottle wall, because the thicker the bottle wall, the more resistant the bottle is to falling.

For sparkling wine, thick bottle walls can balance the internal air pressure; for large bottles of wine, thick bottle walls can bear more wine; thick wine bottles can also increase the quality and luxury of the wine.

Part 05

What is the role of the groove at the bottom of the bottle?

Most wine bottles have grooves at the bottom. This design is mainly for two reasons.

When pouring wine, it makes it difficult for the sediment to be lifted up, making the poured wine clearer, and at the same time it is conducive to collecting sediment when the bottle is still.

It is convenient to stack wine bottles, pour wine by hand, increase structural strength, etc.