Big Wine Bottle History (PDF) - Living the dream, what it is really like ...

Everything you
always wanted
to know about
big wine bottles
but were too
drunk to ask
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Copyright 2005 The Gurdies Winery
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Big wine bottles...................................................................................................................................................................4
A quick history of the big wine bottle....................................................................................................................5
Why big wine bottles? ..................................................................................................................................................... 6
Quality ...................................................................................................................................................................................6
Dollar Value .........................................................................................................................................................................6
Cool Value ............................................................................................................................................................................7
Hassle Value........................................................................................................................................................................7
Special Releases ................................................................................................................................................................8
Their Names...........................................................................................................................................................................9
Piccolo..................................................................................................................................................................................10
Pony......................................................................................................................................................................................10
Split ......................................................................................................................................................................................10
Half Bottle ..........................................................................................................................................................................10
Fillette..................................................................................................................................................................................10
Pot .........................................................................................................................................................................................10
Magnum ..............................................................................................................................................................................10
Marie-Jeanne.....................................................................................................................................................................11
Tappit Hen..........................................................................................................................................................................11
Jeroboam ............................................................................................................................................................................11
Rehoboam ..........................................................................................................................................................................12
Imperial...............................................................................................................................................................................13
Methuselah.........................................................................................................................................................................14
Salmanazar........................................................................................................................................................................14
Balthazar.............................................................................................................................................................................15
Nebuchadnezzar ..............................................................................................................................................................15
Melchior...............................................................................................................................................................................15
Sovereign ...........................................................................................................................................................................16
Key dates in history for the wine bottle.............................................................................................................17
Glass and Cork A match made in Heaven.........................................................................................................22
Glass Characteristics......................................................................................................................................................22
Cork Characteristics .......................................................................................................................................................22
But where does cork come from and how is it made? .....................................................................................23
What makes a top grade cork? ..................................................................................................................................25
Bottle Shapes......................................................................................................................................................................26
Ullage and fill levels in the bottle...........................................................................................................................29
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If you're reading this there's a pretty fair chance you're really into good wines.
Your friends and family may call you obsessed but you prefer to think of it as a
hobby or at worst, you're a wine buff. That's great, because I love wines,
growing them, making them and everything about them.
You rave about wines and you know all about them: how they're made, aged,
enjoyed, what foods go with them and what temperatures to serve them at. But
we all rarely give the bottle a second thought other than wondering how people
can come up with so many different wine label shapes, sizes and colours.
We at The Gurdies Winery have been making custom big wine bottles for years
and we never get tired of seeing peoples reactions to big wine bottles. There's
something so unusual about big wine bottles that they leave even the most
unflappable person speechless.
Here's some history on big wine bottle names and the wine bottle in general. I
hope you enjoy reading this because I really enjoyed the research and the
learning about the history of wine bottles and sizes and names.
Peter Svans
The Gurdies Winery
www.thegurdieswinery.com.au
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Big wine bottles
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Big wine bottles range in size from the magnum, which equals two standard
bottles (1.5 litres), to the Melchior, which equals 24 standard bottles and weighs
in at a table-warping 18 litres.
Big wine bottles have been around for a long time. A major step forward in our
understanding of winemaking came from the analysis of a yellowish residue
inside a jar excavated from the northern Zagros Mountains of Iran. The jar, with
a volume of about 9 litres was found together with similar jars embedded in the
earthen floor of a "kitchen" of a Neolithic mud brick building, dated to ca. 5400-
5000 B.C. The structure consisted of a large living room, the "kitchen," and two
storage rooms. The contents of the 9 litre jar were a primitive wine. So was this
our first big wine bottle?
Big bottles next made their appearance about 2,000 years ago with the Romans.
Before that, wine was stored in large clay amphorae. The bottom of this vessel
was never flat but pointed or knob-like. Bars had special stands to hold the 40L
(Greek) or 26L (Roman) amphorae, and even then they tended to be
cumbersome to handle. While there is some evidence of hollow glass vessels
dating back to 1500 BC in the Middle East, most historians credit the Romans
with inventing the art of glassblowing. The Romans used glass bottles for serving
wine, but not for storing it. At the time bottle sizes, thickness and quality varied
from glass-blower to glass-blower, and glass was still too fragile to withstand
transport.
Glass inevitably became the preferred storage material since it didn't affect the
taste of the wine as clay did. And since glass bottles were made to imitate the
clay amphorae, the first bottles were big.
Over the years wine bottle sizes became smaller and eventually settled between
600 and 800 ml. These were easiest to carry and to make, as glassblowers
needed only one breath to create this size. The glass wine bottle, as we know it
today is only about three centuries old. It was the development of the corkstoppered,
cylindrical glass bottle, which could be stacked on its side, keeping
the cork airtight and wet, that permitted the development of age worthy wines
that improve with cellaring. Millions of bottles later and many years later in 1979,
750 ml became the standard wine bottle size.
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A quick history of the big
wine bottle
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There are several very good reasons why big wine bottles are popular with wine
lovers all over the world.
Quality
g
A wine doesn't stop maturing when it goes in the bottle. It's alive and well and
chemically changing everyday. Part of that chemical change is oxidisation.
There's a small amount of oxygen trapped in every wine bottle. Everyday the
wine's in the bottle, it oxidises a little more. This is not a bad thing as it softens
the tannins and you end up with a much more 'drinkable' wine. But leave it too
long and we all know the results. You end up with a wine tasting more like
vinegar than wine. A big wine bottle has less oxygen relative to the volume of
wine and that means the wine oxidises more slowly. And this in turn means your
big wine bottles will reach peak drinking time long after your 750ml wine bottles
are past their prime.
Sheer size has another thing going for it with good wines. Unless you have the
luxury of a fully temperature controlled cellar for your wines, a big wine bottle
will heat up and cool down more slowly than a normal size wine bottle. As the
wine heats up it expands and leaks out past the cork. As the wine cools and
contracts, it sucks air back into the bottle. Pretty soon you've got vinegar instead
of your prized wine, so the big wine bottle wins on quality.
Dollar Value
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Seeing is believing: 'We're seeing a surge of interest in large bottles, for home
entertaining, cellar showpieces and restaurant displays,' says Ian Mendelsohn,
wine specialist at Christie's auction house in New York.
At recent auctions, hammer prices exceeded the estimated prices by magnumsize
margins. A methuselah 1985 Romanée-Conti, DRC fetched $51,750 (all
figures in US dollars), although the estimated range was between $25,000-
$35,000. A jeroboam 1982 Mouton Rothschild went for $5,750 rather than
$3200-$4500; and an imperial 1961 Latour, estimated at $10,000-$15,000, for
$21,850. Source: Natalie MacLean
And if you don't believe them, just have a look in your local bottle shop. There
are more and more magnums of wines and sparkling wines appearing every day.
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Why big wine bottles?
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There are plenty of technical advantages to big wine bottles but you just can't go
past their cool value. There's nothing quite as impressive as a huge wine bottle
on the table for a good night in. Big bottles are great for special occasions.
Holidays, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, a big weekend BBQ, to celebrate
that successful deal or just because you can.
According to a Wine Spectator magazine survey, 69% of people said they own
big wine bottles, and 63% said they wish they owned more. Most people we see
at the cellar door say they want one so I'd say the 63% is a little conservative.
If you have to impress, then this is a pretty good way to do just that. And then
there's the times when a normal bottle just isn't big enough. Have you noticed
how the wine bottles keep getting smaller as the night gets better and better?
Hassle Value
Only a small fraction of wine finds its way into big bottles. I doubt even 1% of
wine and champagne would be sold in bottles larger than 750ml. They look
great, technically you'll end up with a better wine and there's just no denying
that your guests would have to be dead not to be impressed by a big wine bottle
on the dinner table, but, there are some hassles with big wine bottles.
Storage How do you fit a big wine bottle into your favourite wine
rack? Unless you have a real passion for big wine bottles it's
unlikely you'll have more than one. Most big wine bottles are so
special they end up on the bar or somewhere else on display where
everyone can see them. If you've got, flaunt it.
Pouring Some of the bigger bottles weigh in at close to 18kg.
That's a lot to handle delicately at the dinner table. You can
always try resting the bottle on the back of a chair and tilting it
that way. A big wine bottle is not the sort of thing you'll be
drinking on your own so get help. One person on each side of
the bottle makes it much easier. Or, there are some fancy
cradles available but they're pretty hard to find.
Chilling You can take all the shelves out of the refrigerator to
fit your one champagne bottle but you're not going to make
friends that way. Try filling the bathtub or the laundry sink with
ice and you'll have a wonderful time with your nice, chilled big bottle.
Opening it A 750ml wine bottle cork is around 22mm in
diameter, so your corkscrew is designed to fit a 22mm diameter
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cork. Big wine bottle corks are easily twice that size. Be
careful using your normal corkscrew and make sure it's twisted a
long way into the cork before pulling it out. Champagne bottles are a
bit easier to open as you've got the pressure inside the bottle helping you.
A special occasion Well, the perception is you've got to have a
really special occasion for a big bottle. Birthdays, anniversaries,
dinners, functions or whatever. Why? They provide amazing value
for very high quality wines and sometimes it's just nice to spoil
yourself.
Special Releases
Big bottles are a common way for a winery to celebrate an outstanding vintage
or to significantly raise their profile. They very quickly become collectors' items
and their value reflects this as this snippet shows:
Many vintners use large bottles to showcase good vintages, to mark the winery's
commemorative years or for charitable purposes. Inniskillin Wines in Ontario
bottles ice-wine in a magnum (four times the standard half-bottle size for icewine)
for fundraising auctions. Since this size can't be bought at retail, it's
coveted by bidders: one bottle recently sold for $1,500.
In 1998, the New York auctioneers Morrell & Co. sold a four-foot bottle of port,
containing 98 litres for US$24,150. The producer, Fonseca, made the bottle in
1982 to raise awareness and funds for a rare genetic disease prevalent just north
of Oporto, the city in which the port is produced. After many unsuccessful
attempts to create a large enough mould, the glassblowers finally used one made
in the hollowed-out trunk of a 500-year-old tree.
'However, the world's largest bottle has never been in an auction room. To
celebrate the new millennium in New York's Times Square, California winery
Korbel Champagne Cellars produced a five-foot, 372-pound bottle of sparkling
wine. The Guinness Book of Records has certified it as the world's largest, with
the equivalent of 160 standard bottles -- and eight billion bubbles. It is now on
display -- or can't be budged from at the Korbel winery.' Source: Wine Spectator
Magazine
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The earliest recorded use of biblical names for big bottles comes from 1725
where winemakers in Bordeaux were using the name Jeroboam for the fourbottle
size. It's presumed they selected Jeroboam, the biblical founder of Israel,
who ruled from 931-910 BC because he is referred to as "a man of great worth,"
as were the larger size bottles.
A Champenois poet of the Middle Ages, Eugene Destuche mentioned several of
these names in his poetry. The Champenois adopted the Jeroboam and followed
suit with larger format bottles developed in the 1940s, continuing the practice of
selecting biblical kings and patriarchs.
The naming conventions varied somewhat among wine regions, with the two
standards being Champagne and Bordeaux in France. The new world wines
pretty much follow the Bordeaux naming but throw in their own quirks just to
keep us on our toes In case you run into a big bottle, here's a quick spotters
guide to the larger sizes:
Bottles
0.25
0.5
.666
.784
1
2
3
4
6
6.67
8
12
16
20
24
34
Litres
0.1875
0.375
0.5
.588
0.75
1.50
2.25
3.00
4.50
5.00
6.00
9.00
12.00
15.00
18.00
25.50
Bordeaux
Half-Bottle/Pony
/Fillette
Pot
Bottle
Magnum
Marie-Jean
Double Magnum
Jeroboam
Imperial
Balthazar
Nebuchadnezzar
Melchior
Sovereign
Champagne/Burgundy
/Rhone
Bottle Name
Piccolo/Split
Half-Bottle/Split/
Pony
A useful mnemonic for these big bottle sizes is:
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New World
a
Pony
Half-Bottle/ Split/
Pony/Tenth
Imperial Pint (20 fl oz)
Bottle
Bottle
Magnum
Magnum
N/A
Tappit Hen
Jeroboam
Rehoboam
Double Magnum
Jeroboam (USA only)
Methuselah Imperial/ Methuselah
Salamanazar
Salamanazar
Balthazar
Balthazar
Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar
Melchior
Melchior
Sovereign
Sovereign
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Piccolo
From Italian, meaning small. Piccolo refers to a tiny quarter bottle holding just
187.5ml of sparkling wine.
Pony
Pony seems to be unique to new world wines. It's a quarter bottle size of
approximately 187.5 ml of wine but the name's also sometimes used for a half
bottle of 375ml capacity.
Split
The history of the wine bottle section covers the evolution of the 750ml bottle
size and from this comes the 'tenth' designation. A full size bottle is also referred
to as a fifth and this refers roughly to a fifth of a gallon. A 'split' comes from the
same logic as a tenth, half a regular bottle where a regular bottle is a fifth as it
holds a fifth of a gallon. Hence the half bottle being a tenth.
Half Bottle
Half bottle is a fairly recent name. The name comes from, well pretty obviously,
half a bottle or 375ml.
Fillette
Fillette is French for 'little girl'. The name used in some parts of France to denote
a small bottle of wine.
Pot
Pot is believed to come from Pottle. Pottle was a name used to denote a half
gallon up to the 1200's and has now disappeared from use except in France's
Beaujolais area.
Magnum
From the Latin Magnus, meaning large. A magnum is supposed to have the
perfect glass to wine ration. Sparkling wine tastes fresher from a magnum than a
normal bottle and all wisdom points towards wines maturing better in larger
bottles.
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Marie-Jeanne
Named after an 18th century wine maven. This is an odd size used for Bordeaux
bottles only and not for Sparkling wines.
Tappit Hen
From a Scotch word Topped, crested, tufted. A tappit hen is a hen with a topknot
and also a drinking vessel having a lid with a knob. Usually only for Port bottles.
Jeroboam
So called in allusion to Jeroboam that 'mighty man of valour who made Israel to
sin' (1Kings 11:28). It can also mean a large bowl or a huge bottle.
If you are drinking Champagne, then a Jeroboam holds 4 bottles or 3 litres. If
you're drinking any still wines then a Jeroboam is better value as it now holds 6
bottles or 4.5 bottles. And, if you're in the United States, then recent U.S.
regulations limiting larger bottles to even litre sizes mean some 'Jeroboams' are
now 5 litres or 6.67 bottles.
A reference from The Oxford Dictionary cites the Daily News from July 1889:
'Enormous bottles of fabulous contents called 'Jeroboams', which some say
contain 10, others 12 ordinary bottles.' This definition has never been heard of,
or used since.
And here's some detailed history of the real Jeroboam I and II:
JEROBOAM I was the first ruler of the Northern Kingdom after the schism of the
Ten Tribes. He was a son of Nathan an Ephraimite, and his mother's name was
Sarua. While still a young man he was placed by King Solomon over the tributes
of Ephraim and Manasses (III Kings, xi, 28). In that capacity he superintended
the labours of his tribesmen in the building of the fortress Mello in Jerusalem and
of other public works, and he naturally became conversant with the widespread
discontent caused by the extravagances which marked the reign of Solomon.
Before the end of the latter's reign, Jeroboam received from the Prophet Abias an
intimation that he was destined to be king over ten of the tribes which in
punishment of the idolatry of Solomon were about to sever their allegiance to
him and his house. At the same time it was promised that if Jeroboam were
faithful to the Lord his house would be confirmed in authority over Israel (III
Kings, xi, 38). Not satisfied to await the death of the king, the time set by the
prophet for the fulfilment of the promise, Jeroboam instigated a revolt which was
unsuccessful, and he was obliged to flee, taking refuge with King Sesac in Egypt,
where he remained until the death of Solomon in 975 B.C. (or 938 according to
the Assyrian chronology). After this event he returned to Palestine, and he was
made leader of the delegation sent by dissatisfied element of the population to
ask the new king Roboam to
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lighten the burdens which his father had placed upon them. No sooner had
Roboam imprudently and harshly rejected their petition than ten of the tribes
withdrew their allegiance to the house of David and proclaimed Jeroboam their
king, only the tribes of Juda and Benjamin remaining faithful to Roboam.
Jeroboam established his headquarters at Sichem, and soon added to the
political also a religious schism. Fearing lest the pilgrimages to the temple in
Jerusalem prescribed by the Law might be an occasion for the people of the
Northern Kingdom to go back to their old allegiance, he determined to provide
for them places of worship within their own boundaries, and for this purpose he
set up two golden calves to be worshipped, one in Bethel and the other in Dan.
He also built temples in the high places and had them served by priests drawn
from the lowest of the people (III Kings, xii). The prophet Abias announced the
Divine vengeance that was to come upon the house of Jeroboam because of
these evil deeds (III Kings, xiv), and in the sequel of Israelitish history the worst
doings of the kings are always referred to as like unto the wickedness of
Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who caused Israel to sin. He died in 954 (or in 917)
after a reign of twenty-two years.
JEROBOAM II was the twelfth successor of the preceeding and the fourth king of
the dynasty of Jehu. He succeeded his father Joas in 824 (or 783) and reigned
forty-one years. In 802 Rammanirar III, King of Assyria, undertook a campaign
into the "West lands", and the Kingdom of Israel (Land of Amri), together with
Syria and Phoenicia, was placed under a heavy tribute. Jeroboam, however,
taking advantage of the weakened condition of Syria, re established toward the
north and in other directions the ancient boundaries of Israel (IV Kings, xiv, 25).
The military and patriotic successes of Jeroboam had been foretold by Jonas, son
of Amathi (ibid.), and the Sacred Writer adds that the Lord saved the Israelites
by the hand of Jeroboam, son of Joas. From the political standpoint, Jeroboam
was an intelligent and energetic ruler, but with regard to his religious activities,
his reign is resumed in these words: "He did that which was evil before the Lord.
He departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam, son of Nabai who made Israel to
sin" (IV Kings, xiv, 24). Evidences of the religious decay during his otherwise
prosperous reign are found in the writings of the prophets Amos and Osee, his
contemporaries, who frequently inveigh against idolatry and its many
concomitant evils and moral degradation. Jeroboam II died in 783 (or 743).
Rehoboam
Rehoboam comes from a very large bowl, bottle container, as per the 1950
unabridged Webster dictionary. It may also mean 'enlarged'. Or, staying with the
biblical theme: Rehoboam was the son of Solomon (King of Judah, 922-908 BC).
Some more detailed history of Rehoboam:
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After Solomon, reigned his son Rehoboam. He came to Sichem and there came
all the people to ordain him king. Jeroboam and all the multitude of Israel spake
to Rehoboam, and said:
Thy father set on us an hard yoke and great impositions, now thou hast not so
much need, therefore less it and minish it, and ease us of the great and hard
burden and we shall serve thee.
Rehoboam answered and said: Go ye and come again the third day and ye shall
have an answer.
When the people were departed, Rehoboam made a counsel of the seniors and
old men that had assisted his father Solomon whiles he lived, and said to them:
What say ye? And counsel me that I may answer to the people, which said to
Rehoboam: If thou wilt obey and agree to this people, and agree to their
petition, and speak fair and friendly to them, they shall serve thee always.
But Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the old men, and called the young men
that were of his age, and asked of them counsel. And the young men that had
been nourished with him bade him say to the people in this wise: Is not my
finger greater than the back of my father? If my father hath laid on you a heavy
burden, I shall add and put more to your burden; my father beat you with
scourges, and I shall beat you with scorpions.
The third day after, Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam to have their
answer, and Rehoboam left the counsel of the old men, and said to them like as
the young men had counselled him. And anon the people of Israel forsook
Rehoboam, and of twelve tribes, there abode with him no more but the tribe of
Judah and Benjamin. And the other ten tribes departed and made Jeroboam their
king, and never returned unto the house of David after unto this day. And thus
for sin of Solomon, and because Rehoboam would not do after the counsel of the
old men, but was counselled by young men, the ten tribes of Israel forsook him,
and departed from Jerusalem, and served Jeroboam, and ordained him king upon
Israel. Anon after this, Jeroboam fell to idolatry and great division was ever after
between the kings of Judah and the kings of Israel. And so reigned divers kings
each after other in Jerusalem after Rehoboam, and in Israel after Jeroboam. And
here I leave all the history and make an end of the book of Kings for this time
etc. For ye that list to know how every king reigned after other, ye may find it in
the first chapter of Saint Matthew which is read on Christmas day in the morning
tofore Te Deum, which is the genealogy of our Lady.
Imperial
An Imperial is a peculiarly English measurement. It's only used to refer to still
wines and holds 8 bottles or 6 litres.
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Methuselah
Methuselah refers to 8 bottles or 6 litres of Champagne. The name is not
technically used for still wines.
The name probably originated from the fact that the bigger the bottle the longer
quality wine or champagne will be able to age. In the biggest Champagne bottle
one assumed wine could reach Methuselah ages.
Some detailed history of Methuselah:
One of the Hebrew patriarchs, mentioned in Genesis 5. The word is variously
given as Mathusale (1 Chronicles 1:3; Luke 3:37) and Mathusala. Etymologists
differ with regard to the signification of the name. Holzinger gives "man of the
javelin" as the more likely meaning; Hommel and many with him think that it
means "man of Selah", Selah being derived from a Babylonian word, given as a
title to the god, Sin. The author of Genesis traces the patriarch's descent through
his father Henoch to Seth, a son of Adam and Eve. At the time of his son's birth
Henoch was sixty-five years of age. When Methuselah had reached the great age
of one hundred and eighty-seven years he became the father of Lamech.
Following this he lived the remarkable term of seven hundred and eighty-two
years, which makes his age at his death nine hundred and sixty-nine years. It
follows thus that his death occurred in the year of the Deluge. There is no record
of any other human being having lived as long as this for which reason the
name, Methuselah, has become a synonym for longevity.
The tendency of rationalists and advanced critics of different creeds leads them
to deny outright the extraordinary details of the ages of patriarchs. Certain
exegetes solve the difficulty to their own satisfaction by declaring that the year
meant by the sacred writer is not the equivalent of our year. In the Samaritan
text Methuselah was sixty-seven at Lamech's birth, and 720 at his death.
Salmanazar
There are two versions of the name. One gives Salmanazar originating from
Salma, a measure of capacity used in Italy and Sicily. The historical link of the
name relates to the past kings of Assyria. You can even spell it two ways,
Salmanasar or Salmanazar. And to make it worse, sometimes it's spelt
Salamanazar.
The name is only used for sparkling wines and new world still wines. A
Salamanazar holds 12 bottles or 9 litres. One misleading entry from history
comes from the Daily Telegraph on 26 February 1978, where Edward Heath was
given a salmanazar of champagne containing 'the equivalent of 14 ordinary
bottles.'
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The first Salmanazar ruled Assyria from 1274 to 1245 BC
The second Salmanazar reigned from 860 to 842 BC
The most famous one was Salmanazar III who lived from 858 to 823 BC
Salmanazar IV ruled from 782 to 773 BC
Salmanazar V ruled from 726 to 721 BC
Balthazar
The name seems to have come from the reference to King, as in king sized. The
Balthazar holds 16 bottles or 12 litres of Champagne or still wine.
Balthazar was one of the three wise men of the East who came to worship the
infant Jesus. The other two were Gaspar and Melchior.
Balthazar was the King of Saba, an African Prince who travelled the furthest of
any of the three wise men. He was known as the 'Emperor of Black Men' and his
gift of myrrh was a gift of his homeland. Myrrh is an aromatic resin that comes
from the bark of thorny African trees. It was prized throughout the Holy Land
two thousand years ago, because when the plant was dried and pressed into
incense it was said to deter vermin from invading the household.
Symbolically, myrrh is said to represent suffering. It was for this reason that
Balthazar chose to bring to Jesus a gift of such meaning.
At the age of 112, on the day of the Feast of the Epiphany, Balthazar died after
saying prayers at the temple.
Nebuchadnezzar
The Nebuchadnezzar was probably named after the King of Babylon who ruled
from 605 to 562 BC during whose reign Babylon flourished. Where Balthazar
refers to king size, Nebuchadnezzar refers to the biggest king size.
The Nebuchadnezzar holds 20 bottles or 15 litres of Champagne or still wine.
Nebuchadnezzar's ruled from 605 to 561 BC. In 598 BC he laid siege to
Jerusalem and again in 588 BC. The name Nebuchadnezzar comes from the
Jewish scriptures. The actual inscription reads Nebo-kudurri-ussur or 'may Nebo
protect the crown' which is analogous to his fathers name: Nebo(Nabu)-habalussur
meaning 'Nebo protect the son'.
Melchior
The Melchior was named after one of the three wise men.
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A Melchior holds 24 bottles or 18 litres of wine and is used for Champagne or still wines.
The three wise men were Balthasar (or Balthazar), Melchior, and Gaspar (or Casar).
Balthazar brought myrrh. The King of Arabia, Melchior brought a casket of gold in the
form of a shrine. Gaspar was King of Tarsus and brought frankincense in a jar.
In 735 AD, St. Bede identified the magi in a work called the Excerpta et Collectanea: 'The
magi were the ones who gave gifts to the Lord. The first is said to have been Melchior, an
old man with white hair and a long beard, who offered gold to the Lord as to a king. The
second, Gaspar by name, young and beardless and ruddy complexioned, honoured Him
as God by his gift of incense, an oblation worthy of divinity. The third, black-skinned and
heavily bearded, named Balthasar... by his gift of myrrh testified to the Son of Man who
was to die.'
An excerpt from a Medieval Saints calendar printed in Cologne reads: 'Having undergone
many trials and fatigues for the Gospel, the three wise men met at Sewa (Sebaste in
Armenia) in 54 (AD) to celebrate the feast of Christmas. Thereupon, after the celebration
of Mass, they died: St. Melchior on 1st of January, aged 116; St. Balthasar on 6th of
January, aged 112; and St. Gaspar on 11th of January, aged 109.'
The Roman martyrology also lists these dates as the Magi's feast days. The 12 days of
Christmas ends on 6 January with the Feast of Epiphany also called "The Adoration of the
Magi" or the day of the Three Kings.
Sovereign
Extremely rare is a Sovereign holding 34 bottles or 25.5 litres of Champagne or still wine.
The only reference to this name is to as allegiance to the King or Sovereign of the day.
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Key dates in history for
the wine bottle
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The following is by no means an exhaustive history of glass or wine bottles. That
would take hundreds of pages and cover much that's not relevant to the wine
bottle. This is a short timeline showing the critical dates leading up to the
development of the modern (and big) wine bottle.
The basic ingredients in glass haven't changed for the last 10,000 years. Modern
soda lime silicate glass is remarkably similar to glass made from soda ash,
limestone and silica. 10,000 years ago the soda ash came from fires, the
limestone from seashells and the silica from common beach sand.
12000 BC - Crude glazes and enamels on pottery, probably to help waterproofing
5400 BC - The fist mention of wine dates back to 5,400BC in Samaria. Being
drunk was acceptable in those days, as even the gods got drunk.
4500 BC - Crude glass objects found from the region around Mesopotamian
3100 BC-2890 BC Wine stored in amphorae which are stoppered with cloth,
leather, cork or clay and mortar.
3000 BC Glass objects found from around Egypt
2000 BC - Wine presses and grapes present in Crete, the start of the Greek wine
industry
1500 BC - Glass vessels used by the Syrians. A strand of molten glass is wrapped
around a core of sand and the sand removed after the glass has cooled.
900 BC - In Syria & Rhodes, Greece, glass production begins and glass recipes
begin to be formulated. Wooden wine barrels and wine rations for soldiers and
travellers mentioned in Samaria.
650 BC - First Glassmaking handbook in Assyrian Assurbanipal's Library
550 BC - Samaria absorbed into Persia. Salaries sometimes paid in wine.
Herodotus commented that leaders would often reconsider an opinion made
while drunk, but would conversely get drunk to reconsider an opinion made while
sober.
500 BC - Venetian glass artists begin to create vases and glass pieces glass rolls
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Key dates in history for the wine bottle
300 BC - Syrians producing glass 'blown' vessels using a blowpipe which leads to
greater consistency in bottle sizing and more creativity in design
50 BC - Phoenician glassblowing techniques flourish to create art glass
25 BC - 400 AD - Roman Empire causes rapid development and expansion of
glass melting, working and forming technology in the Mediterranean region. The
Romans are serving wine from blown glass bottles and while glass is great for
storing wine, the one problem they have is producing consistent size bottles.
100 - Glass cost rapidly declines and for the first time becomes available to less
than the aristocracy
1000 - Venice dominates world glass production, Murano Island is established as
a major glass centre. Venice moves its glass ovens to the island of Murano to
remove the danger of fire. The city establishes draconian penalties for any
glassmaker caught jeopardizing the Venetian monopoly in clear glass by taking
production secrets abroad. Many of the wine and spirit bottles were very fragile
and had to be wrapped in straw. We all know and love Chianti bottles
traditionally decorated with straw. Very few people know that a long time ago
they HAD to be wrapped in straw.
1400 - The shape of bottles is changing. The original blown balloon shape is
moving towards a longer flatter shape that is easier to store. Size is around 700-
800ml.
1590 - Glass telescope and microscope lenses are developed in Netherlands and
used for the first time
1600 - France established as major power in the glass industry, Henry IV confers
exclusive rights to some Italians to produce glass in selected cities in France
1635 - Englishman Sir Kenelm Digby becomes the father of the modern wine
bottle. By proclamation of King James I all glassmakers stop using wood in their
furnaces so as to not deplete the forests. Coal fires produce a hotter flame and a
better product. Digby uses a blower to make the furnace even hotter and makes
the bottles thicker and stronger along with the benefit of being darker in colour.
The bottles now have a fairly consistent neck size that is essential for a cork to
seal properly.
1636 - Illegal to sell wine in the UK by the bottle for the next two centuries
because of inconsistent bottle sizes. Wine would be measured, poured into the
bottle and then corked.
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Key dates in history for the wine bottle
1665 - Jean Baptiste Colbert centralized glass making in France and established
flat glass manufacturing facilities. Glass used in the palace Of Versailles as a
lasting symbol of art and technology.
1693 - France is a dominate producer of flat glass for mirrors and windows, Saint
Gobain factory becomes the "Manufacture Royle des Glaces de France"
1730s - Glass wine bottles begin to be commonly used, the bottle shape started
to lengthen and the sides flatten. With this development came the discovery that
bottles could be stored on their side, keeping the cork wet and expanded and
therefore preserving the life of the wine. Most bottles also had a lip at the top of
the neck which served as an anchor for the string that held the cork in.
1765 - "Crystal Glass" production begins
1800 - With the industrial revolution dawns a new era in glass manufacturing.
"Synthetic" chemicals for glass making are available for the first time. Synthetic
glasses with improved properties become available.
1821- An English company patents a machine to mould bottles that were uniform
in size and shape. Selling wine already bottled, however, was illegal in England
until 1860, due to both the political influence of pub owners and the lack of
labelling standards and means of authenticating the fill volume. Wine was sold by
the measure and bottled after the sale, with the customer providing the bottles
which were often identified with a personal seal. Hand-made paper labels
identifying the contents developed in the late 1800s and printed labels came
after 1860.
1863 - Sovay process dramatically reduces cost of a main ingredient in glass,
sodium oxide.
1867 - Siemens brothers, Freiderich, Karl, Hans, Werner and Wilhelm patent and
develop first regenerative glass furnace in Dresden, Germany.
1875 - 'Technical' glasses are developed in Germany, Abbe, Schott, and Carl
Zeiss. University of Jena, Germany becomes a major glass science and
engineering centre. Glass chemistry is in its infancy.
1876 - Bausch & Lomb Optical Company founded in Rochester, NY. Makers of
lenses and other optical components.
1889 - First glass blowing machine devised by Howard M. Ashley and developed
in Pittsburg, USA.
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Key dates in history for the wine bottle
1900 - Mechanised glass forming processes refined.
1903 - The first successful automatic bottle blowing machine put in operation by
its inventor, Michael J. Owens, an employee of Libby Glass Company. The major
achievement of this 'blowing' machine was a consistent neck size ideal for a
perfect cork seal and this is the single most important feature in mass wine
bottle production. For the first time in history we have a cheap and simple way to
reliably store wines. Wine regions began to produce their own distinctive bottles.
This was more marketing driven to differentiate their produce than for any
technical reason.
1910 - 'The new machines' are producing over 57,000 bottles a day, a dramatic
improvement over the 1500 bottles per day produced by hand a few years
earlier.
1915 - University of Sheffield establishes Department of glass Technology, now
called the Centre for Glass Research.
1920 - Griggith theory of the strength of brittle materials first applied to glass
bulbs deliberately weakened by scratches, dramatically improves understanding
of and how to improve the strength of glass.
1923 - Gob Feeder introduced worldwide.
1925 - Individual Section (I.S.) bottle machine invented by Henry Ingle used
with the gob feeder to dramatically increase and reduce cost of producing glass
containers.
1926 - Arthur Wood and David Gray of Corning Glass Works develop the "399"
machine later called the "Ribbon" machine to make light bulbs. Bulbs can be
made at speeds of 1000 per minute.
1932 - William Zachariasen publishes the "Random Network Hypothesis" of glass
structure and his rules of glass formation in the Journal of the American
Chemical Society.
1950-1960 - Ford Motor Co. establishes major glass research centre, glass
science becomes a major research discipline.
1959 - Pilkington Brothers patent the float glass process and introduce it in
England. This will ultimately revolutionise flat glass manufacturing.
1970 - 1st silica optical fibre produced at Corning Glass Works using chemical
vapour deposition techniques to reduce attenuation and improve signal
transmission.
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1970s - Wine bottle sizes vary from about 650 to 850 millilitres with each
appellation having their own standard. Most German wine bottles are 700
millilitres. Some bottles from Alsace are 720 millilitres. The older French wine
bottles most likely hold 800 millilitres, a common measure for Burgundy,
Champagne and Rhone before 1945. The European Union established standards
that have been adopted worldwide. The "standard size" wine bottle is now 750
millilitres (26.7 oz.).
1970-1980 - Expansion of many university glass research programs across the
US in Catholic University, Penn State, Rutgers etc.
1984 - Marcel & Michel Poulain and Jacques Lucas discover first fluoride glass in
Rennes, France.
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Key dates in history for the wine bottle
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Glass and Cork
A match made in Heaven
It's one of those things when everything comes together and it all just works as
it's meant to. The match between a glass bottle and a cork stopper is what
revolutionised wine storage, shipping and drinking around the world. The unique
features of glass and cork made them the ideal match with each other to
perfectly seal, age and present many fine wines from around the world. Screw
caps are now taking over from cork as the seal of choice for premium wines and
who only knows what the next few years will bring.
Glass Characteristics
Glass has two unique characteristics that make it ideal to store wines.
Glass is a nearly inert material. There's no chemical reaction between glass and
most materials that touch it. The exception is strong acids used to etch glass, but
that's another story. Since the glass won't impart any flavours to the wine, it's an
ideal storage container.
Glass comes in many different colours. From sparkling clear to dark brown and
bright blue. Different additives in glass will produce different colours. The darker
colours protect the wine from light that would otherwise ruin the wine. There's
nothing like a brilliantly clear bottle to show off the luscious colours in a fine
wine. And then on the other hand, there's nothing like a dark bottle to preserve a
premium wine that will cellared for many years. It's the best of both worlds and
we have the flexibility with one material to cover all possible winemaking options.
Cork Characteristics
The unique physical properties of natural cork have made it an ideal way to seal
wine bottles since the Roman days. While screw caps are making serious inroads
as the closure of choice for premium wines, let's now look at why cork is still so
useful and where it comes from.
Cork has a unique honeycomb cell structure.
Each cell is sealed, filled
with air and not connected to any other cell.
Cork is elastic.
Cork can be compressed and when released will return to
its original volume. This comes from the cell structure. As the cork is
compressed, the air in the cells is compressed. When pressure is removed
the cork expands back to its original volume.
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Glass and Cork A match made in Heaven
Cork is waterproof.
This again comes back to the wonderful cell
structure. Individual cells are sealed so they're not connected to each
other. No capillary action or wicking can happen in cork. Individual cells
filled with air are very poor conductors of heat and vibration. This makes
cork ideal for flooring and sound proofing. Not that we care about this in
wine bottle corks but a huge number of wine bottle corks are re-cycled
into floats, gaskets, flooring and a thousand other things each year.
Cork is lightweight.
It has a low density because the cells are all full of
air. Cork has been used for fishing floats almost as long as it's been used
for wine bottle stoppers.
Cork is naturally fire resistant.
That doesn't mean it's fireproof. It will
burn if heated long enough but there's very little chance of your '67
Grange spontaneously combusting.
And finally, cork has a high friction surface.
That is, it stays in the
bottle. As the cork is cut, millions of cells are ruptured. This forms rough
domes that can seal onto a smooth surface such as a glass bottle neck.
But where does cork come from and how is it made?
Natural Cork is harvested from the living bark of the Cork Oak ( Quercus Suber L.).
It
is harvested in a regular cycle over the lifetime of the tree. Most of the worlds cork
comes from the Mediterranean countries. Cork is grown in Asia as well but only cork
from Mediterranean countries is considered of high enough quality to be used in wine
bottle stoppers.
The first harvest of virgin cork comes when the tree is about 25 years old. More
'reproduction' cork can be harvested in the next 9 to 12 years. Then another 9 to 12
years later comes the first harvest suitable for wine bottle corks. From the time
you've planted the tree till the first wine bottle cork is harvested is around 40 years
so it's not a get rich quick scheme. Cork bark is stripped from the trees during spring
or early summer. At this time there's plenty of sap flowing and bark comes away
easily.
There are laws regarding when each tree can next be harvested. Portugal allows
harvests every 9 years while the island of Sardinia stipulates 12 years between
harvests. Big white numbers are painted onto the bark to know when to next harvest
the cork. The oldest and most productive cork tree on record is the Whistler Tree in
Portugal. The countless birds living in the tree's branches led to the name; the
Whistler Tree. The tree is over 213 years old and has been producing cork since
1820. Each harvest produces cork for over 100,000 wine bottle corks. Not bad when
you consider the average tree accounts for around 40,000 corks.
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Cork is big business. The industry employs around 30,000 people worldwide and
is worth around $AUSD 3billion each year. Wine bottle corks account for only
15% of cork production by weight, but almost 65% of value. This is spread over
an estimated 13 billion wine bottle stoppers per year. Floor and wall coverings
account for the next major chunk of value (around 20%) and the other products
(gaskets, matting, sound insulation etc) take care of the balance. The market for
corks is still growing at around 7% per year but more and more wineries are
turning towards synthetic corks and screw caps.
Country
Production
Forest Area (Ha) % of World's
Portugal 725,000 52%
Spain 510,000 32%
Italy 225,000 6%
Morocco 198,000 4%
Tunisia 60,000 3%
Algeria 460,000 2%
France 22,000 1%
TOTAL 2,200,000 100%
After harvest, the cork bark is stacked out in the open and left to age for a few
months. The cork is moved to the factory after the buyers' inspections and purchase.
It's aged out in the open again until the processor is happy it's stabilised. The first
step is to boil the cork to make it pliable and fully expand the cells. Cork's unique cell
structure is what makes it so incredibly useful to us. Once the moisture content
drops back to around 20%, it's ready to be washed, dried and inspected again.
Cork is graded, inspected and graded again many times during the process from
bark to wine bottle stopper. The difference between cork grades relates to porosity,
density and visual/physical defects. The higher the 'reference' number, the better
quality the cork with less physical and visual defects. The bark is cut into strips as
wide as the wine bottle cork is long. Each cork is 'punched' from these strips. You can
see the tree's growth rings running up and down a cork.
Corks have traditionally been washed in a chlorine solution and then neutralised with
oxalic acid. That is until someone discovered that cork taint (the cause of 'corked'
bottles) was the result of the chlorine washing process. Now they're sterilised with a
number of different treatments. Each company supplying wine bottle corks will have
its own process. Every one designed to sterilise the cork. Cork taint or 2,4,6-
Trichloroanisole (TCA) as it's real name, is the single biggest defect to affect wine
associated with cork. TCA can occur in a number of ways but
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the most common method of it happening is by the fungal metabolism of
chlorophenols (this means that fungus grows inside the cork). This can occur
during the chlorine washing process which ironically is the process specifically
designed to get rid of all problems with corks. Millions of dollars have been spent
by the cork industry to make sure that natural cork remains the wine bottle
stopper of choice to the world. Even more millions have been spent on research
facilities world wide to combat TCA and other problems with natural corks. And
they're working. The quality of natural corks has risen noticeably in the past few
years.
After washing the cork is quickly dried until the moisture content is less than
10% to stop any mould or fungus growth. Any problems with TCA come from
inside the cork and are invisible to the naked eye. The corks are again inspected
for any defects or imperfections. Optical scanners are used to process the
millions of corks produced each year but the top quality corks are still sorted and
graded by people.
What makes a top grade cork?
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The key things we look for in a top quality cork include overall wood quality, an
even density, even porosity and no major visual or structural defects. More and
more wineries have started using synthetic corks. That is a plastic cork and not
an agglomerate cork. An agglomerate cork looks like a cork floor tile. It's made
from lower grade or recycled corks that are crumbed and then stuck back
together again. An agglomerate cork costs less than a natural cork and still looks
like a real cork when pulled from the bottle. However, it doesn't have all of
natural corks fantastic properties. Once compressed it doesn't spring back as
easily as natural cork and it's cell structure has been drastically altered by the
'agglomeration' process. As a compromise between natural cork and plastic
stoppers, it's still pretty good. A fully synthetic cork can never ever have TCA.
Every synthetic cork is identical in size, texture, density and any other physical
property you can name. This uniformity is very important to get a perfect seal on
every bottle produced so the great wine leaving the winery is still a great wine
when you open the bottle. So the next time you open a bottle of wine think
about all the work that goes into making sure it stays a great bottle of wine.
Admire the cork for a minute or two, don't just toss it away, it's truly a wonderful
thing.
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The history timeline above outlines the gradual change in bottle shapes. Now
when you walk into a winery or bottle shop the variety of shapes and colours
almost make the choice of wine inside them a secondary consideration. Some are
startling and some are beautiful and some make you think that there are some
very good bottle salespeople out there selling to some pretty gullible
winemakers.
The key bottle shapes that are still with us over the years are:
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Bottle Shape Name and History
This is the traditional round bottle
before we started to get bottles flatter
and longer. It's still the traditional sherry
or port bottle.
Bordeaux
A straight sided bottle with steep and
tall shoulders. Usually a dark green or
brown bottle. Now it's being made in
clear glass for whites and lighter reds to
show off the wine colours. This is
probably the most common wine bottle
shape in the world. This is a good shape
bottle for wines that throw a lot of
sediment. The steep shoulders stop the
sediments that would otherwise flow
into the glass. This is also known as a
Claret bottle. The Burgundy bottle is
said to be an older design and the
Burgundy bottle was produced especially
to trap the sediments in the wine.
Burgundy
The Burgundy bottle has shallow gently
sloping shoulders. Typically produced in
light green or clear glass and generally a
heavy bottle. These bottles can cause
problems in the wine cellar as not all
cellar racks accommodate Burgundy
bottles.
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Bottle Shape Name and History
Fortified wine bottles
Traditionally these bottles are dark in colour due
to peat smoke from the stoves. A bulbous neck
and sharp accentuated shoulders are typical to
capture as much sediment as possible. These
bottles will usually have a cork stopper rather
than traditional cork.
Champagne
This is a bottle design that was born out of
necessity. It's made from very thick glass and
has gentle sloping shoulders and a long neck.
This bottle also has a large punt, or indentation,
in the bottom of the bottle. Champagne bottles
need to withstand the high pressures exerted by
the carbonation development after bottling.
Pressures can exceed 90 psi. The punt is needed
to help reduce the pressure on the bottom of
the bottle. The punt in the bottle has been there
since glass was first blown. A pontil, or wooden
stick, was used to hold the bottom of the bottle
while the glass blower spun and blew at the
neck end. The stick dented the bottom of the
still molten glass. Todays moulded glass bottles
don't need the punt, but tradition says that it
shall be there. It's not a 100% rule but most
fine wine bottles will have the punt. Over time
the pale green colour of the glass was made
darker as soon as someone figured out it was
good for preserving the precious content from
light, its relentless enemy. Around the neck are
the protruding rings to anchor down the wire
cages to stop the cork popping out. Incidentally,
the wire used to hold the cork down is called a
muselet. As soon as Dom Perignon started his
experiments with bubbles, it was pretty obvious
that more than just a cork was needed to keep
the bubbles in the bottle. Various combinations
of wires and strings and twisted ties were tried
till the muselet as we know it today was
invented by Adolphe Jacqueson in 1844.
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Bottle Shape Name and History
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Riesling or Mosel bottle
A narrow, thin tall bottle with a very
gentle sloping shoulder. Typically light
green or brown in colour but now you'll
find them in clear and every other
colour in between.
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Ullage is the word used to describe the air space above the wine and under the cork
or screw cap. The word comes ultimately from the Latin oculus,
“eye”, which was
used in a figurative sense by the Romans for the bung hole of a barrel. This was taken
into French in the medieval period as oeil, from which a verb ouiller was created, to
fill a barrel up to the bung hole. (When wine ferments in the barrel, there's a slow
loss of liquid due to evaporation through the wood. It's very important to keep the
barrels full, as otherwise unwanted bacteria and yeasts can get in and cause nasty
side fermentations.) In turn, a noun
ouillage was created, which was the
immediate source of our word, first
recorded in Norman English about
1300, at first in the sense of the
amount of liquid needed to fill a
barrel up to the bung hole. By an
obvious extension, ullage came to
refer to any amount by which a
barrel is unfilled, perhaps because
some of the contents have been
used. And it is also applied to the
unfilled air space at the top of a
bottle of wine, which in this case is
essential to allow for expansion of the
contents as the temperature changes.
High fill or Normal fill - Level of young wines. Exceptionally good in wines over 10
years old.
Into neck - Perfectly good for any age of wine. Outstandingly good for a wine of 10
years in bottle.
Mid neck fill - Indicates exceptional storage for any wine. In bottles over 10 years of
age, indicates especially good storage conditions. For those over 40 years of age,
may indicate a recorked/reconditioned bottle.
Base neck fill - The fill is at about the bottom of the neck. Indicates excellent
storage for any wine. For wines over 25 years of age, indicates exceptional
storage conditions. Many producers fill bottles at base neck or lower.
Top shoulder - Fill just down below base neck. A standard fill for wines over 10
years of age. Normal level for any claret 15 years old or older. For wines over 25
years of age, indicates excellent storage conditions.
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Ullage and fill levels in the bottle
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Ullage and fill levels in the bottle
Upper or high shoulder - A fill just above the midpoint (as measured by
volume) of the shoulder of the bottle. Acceptable for any wine over 20 years old.
For wines less than this age, may indicate problems with storage conditions.
Common for wines over 40 years of age. Exceptional for pre-1940 wines.
Mid shoulder - Not unusual for wines over 40 years of age, but may suggest
poor storage condition or early signs of cork failure. Can be at significant risk of
being undrinkable and estimates for the value of the wine usually take this into
account.
Lower shoulder - Some risk. Low estimates on wine value, usually no reserve
at auction.
Low shoulder - This can often be an indicator of poor storage conditions and/or
an undrinkable wine. Not normally recommended for consumption. Risky and
usually only accepted for sale if wine or label exceptionally rare or interesting.
Always offered without reserve and low estimate.
Below low shoulder - Rarely seen. Not acceptable for sale unless a rare sort of
bottle. Wine will usually be undrinkable.
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The Gurdies Winery specialises in producing custom designed big wine bottles
from Magnums (1.5 litres) to Melchiors (18 litres) and everything in between. We
are located in the southern end of Australia and we ship big wine bottles all over
the world. If you'd like to see more of our big wine bottles and order a big wine
bottle for yourself, then have a look at www.thegurdieswinery.com.au and click
on Big Wine Bottles.
For more details or questions or suggestions, please email the author at:
peter.svans@thegurdieswinery.com.au
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