For every wine… there is a bottle! But what is the reason? What are the main characteristics that differentiate the wine bottles we taste? Let’s find out by analysing some of the most popular bottles in the world.
Many bottles, each different from the other
“Bottles of wine are Hock, Bordeaux, Burgundy. Every other bottle is to be considered fancy (almost always deplorable)”.
This is what the fourth edition of “Il vino giusto” reports, the book of the Veronelli wine master, dating back to the 70s.
Veronelli‘s amusing discrimination opens the world of wine bottles: containers of precious nectars which, to the untrained eye, may all seem very similar to each other in shape, but they actually hide precise characteristics that make them unique and different from each other.
What are the most used types of wine bottles?
BORDEAUX BOTTLE: the most classic and impressive wine bottle, with a very balanced and always elegant shape, and with a much-used pronounced shoulder, it tastes like passion and authenticity according to wine producers. It owes its name to the Bordeaux wine production area near the homonymous city of Bordeaux in France.
BURGUNDY BOTTLE: born in Burgundy, area of true wine lovers, which gives this bottle a more tapered shape. Indeed, its shoulders are long and sloping, whereas its base is wide. Burgundy bottle is mainly used for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay – the most traditional wines of its area of origin – and is also widespread.
CHAMPAGNE BOTTLE: its name says it all, a bottle created to hold Champagne, one of the finest wines in the world. In addition to this peculiarity, it is also very sparkling, which is why the glass of Champagne bottle is thicker, to adequately resist the pressure of such a sparkling wine. From then on, it has been chosen as the ideal bottle to contain all types of sparkling wines with such internal pressure. This occurs through its shape: thick bottom, a conical protuberance to distribute the pressure, as well as thin and very sloping shoulders to make the wine descend without jolts.
HOCK BOTTLE: with a very elongated shape, practically absent shoulders, and a flat bottom, without protuberances, it was created to preserve white wines. This is because this type of wine has neither salts nor cream of tartar, therefore it cannot precipitate. Hock bottle is often matched with still wines, such as Pinot Blanc, Gewurztraminer, and Riesling, perfect for this type of bottle.
A closer look at the Bordeaux Bottle
The most used bottle by the Azienda Agricola Montioni to best hold its Umbrian wines is the Bordeaux.
Main characteristics of the Bordeaux bottle:
– height approx. 30 cm, capacity 75 ml
– the traditional version has a pronounced cylindrical shape and a short neck
– glass colour is dark green for red wines and transparent or light green for white wines
– cone-shaped protuberance in the bottom
Its main purpose is to keep wine deposits (naturally formed) inside, as much as possible. The cone-shaped bottom of the Bordeaux bottle helps precisely spread these deposits, pushing them towards the edges until they compact together.Even its very wide shoulders have a similar purpose, which is to block the deposits that have escaped the bottom in order to avoid them ending up inside the glass, especially if the wine has been stored in the bottle for a long time.
Variation and fun fact: you can also find the Bordeaux bottle with higher shoulders (or “Goliath”), which is dedicated to refined red and white wines because it is more elegant in appearance with a narrower and elongated shape.
Have you already tasted all Montioni wines in their splendid Bordeaux bottle? They are also perfect as a gift!
We look forward to seeing you in the next article of Words of Wine… G for Glass! The essential accessory in the presence of an excellent bottle of Montioni wine!
2) Aggiungere un cucchiaino di lievito per dolci, quindi amalgamare.
3) Foderare una teglia con carta da forno
4) Fare con l’impasto dei rotolini e poi unire i due estremi di ciascun rotolino per formare una ciambellina.
5) Ripassare la ciambellina nello zucchero, avanti e dietro, poi disporre sulla teglia.
6) Infornare le ciambelline a 190° per 7 minuti
Ed ecco pronte le nostre ciambelline al Sagrantino Passito Montioni!
L’abbinamento che vi consigliamo? Ovviamente un calice di Sagrantino Passito Montioni o, in alternativa, il nostro vino più amato ovvero il Sagrantino di Montefalco DOCG Montioni!
Alla prossima ricetta del blog dell’Azienda Agricola Montioni, Tra Cucina e Cantina!
On occasion, the winemaker may decide to leave them in if the grapes themselves contain less tannin than desired. This is more acceptable if the stems have ‘ripened’ and started to turn brown. If increased skin extraction is desired, a winemaker might choose to crush the grapes after destemming.
Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than, possibly, any other purely sensory thing.
Removal of stems first means no stem tannin can be extracted. In these cases the grapes pass between two rollers which squeeze the grapes enough to separate the skin and pulp, but not so much as to cause excessive shearing or tearing of the skin tissues. In some cases, notably with “delicate” red varietals such as Pinot noir or Syrah, all or part of the grapes might be left uncrushed (called “whole berry”) to encourage the retention of fruity aromas through partial carbonic maceration.
The Grapes
The quality of the grapes determines the quality of the wine more than any other factor. Grape quality is affected by variety as well as weather during the growing season, soil minerals and acidity, time of harvest, and pruning method. The combination of these effects is often referred to as the grape’s terroir.
Grapes are usually harvested from the vineyard from early September until early November in the northern hemisphere, and mid February until early March in the southern hemisphere.
In some cool areas in the southern hemisphere, for example Tasmania, harvesting extends into May. The most common species of wine grape is Vitis Vinifera, which includes nearly all varieties of European origin. The most common species of wine grape is Vitis Vinifera, which includes nearly all varieties of European origin.
Manual harvesting is the hand-picking of grape clusters from the grapevines. In the United States, some grapes are picked into one- or two-ton bins for transport back to the winery. Manual harvesting has the advantage of using knowledgeable labor to not only pick the ripe clusters but also to leave behind the clusters that are not ripe or contain bunch rot or other defects. This can be an effective first line of defense to prevent inferior quality fruit from contaminating a lot or tank of wine.
Destemming is the process of separating stems from the grapes. Depending on the winemaking procedure, this process may be undertaken before crushing with the purpose of lowering the development of tannins and vegetal flavors in the resulting wine. Single berry harvesting, as is done with some German Trockenbeerenauslese, avoids this step altogether with the grapes being individually selected.
Crushing is the process when gently squeezing the berries and breaking the skins to start to liberate the contents of the berries. Destemming is the process of removing the grapes from the rachis (the stem which holds the grapes).
In traditional and smaller-scale wine making, the harvested grapes are sometimes crushed by trampling them barefoot or by the use of inexpensive small scale crushers. These can also destem at the same time. However, in larger wineries, a mechanical crusher/destemmer is used. The decision about destemming is different for red and white wine making. Generally when making white wine the fruit is only crushed, the stems are then placed in the press with the berries. The presence of stems in the mix facilitates pressing by allowing juice to flow past flattened skins.
Katerina Monroe
@katerinam • More Posts by Katerina
Congratulations on the award, it's well deserved! You guys definitely know what you're doing. Looking forward to my next visit to the winery!
