Your Guide to identifying French wines based on the shapes of the bottle!
Did you know, glass bottles were not the preferred choice of wine storage up until the 17th Century? Before that, wines were stored in goat skins (not the most hygienic!) and then in barrels.
The eventual use of tinted glass ensured that the wine was protected by direct sunlight and corks helped in protecting the wines from oxidisation.
There is no one answer to the hows and whys of the shape and size of the wine bottle. From the ease of glassblowers, to ease of transportation, to having a distinct bottle shape to establish the identity between regions, there are many theories abound.
Today, any bottle shape can be used to store any wine depending on the winery’s or winemaker’s choice but in France, due to their appellation rule, certain bottle shapes can only be used for a specific wine. These regions also lend their names to those particular shapes of the bottle.
See the below to understand which wines are commonly used for the 4 most popular shapes of wine bottles :
1.Burgundy bottle
2.Bordeaux bottle
3.Alsace bottle
4.Champagne bottle
Next time you see a bottle of wine, try guessing the grape variety or the wine before looking at the label.
It will be fun, I promise!
Wine Telegrams 