Winemaking Terms Defined: Bottles and Bottling

aging  to let finished wine sit quietly in a dark, cool place for a period of time before drinking, giving the wine time to mature. The time length depends on the specific wine. Also called cellaring. The two types are:

bottle aging  to let finished wine sit after bottling for a period of time before drinking.

bulk aging  to let finished wine sit in a carboy or tank for a period of time before bottling.

bottle style  a bottle shape. These are the most common:

Bordeaux  a bottle shape with pronounced “shoulders” and straight sides.

Burgundy  a bottle shape with slanted “shoulders”.

Champagne  a bottle style used for sparkling wine because it has extra-thick glass and a large punt to help it withstand the pressure.

Hock  a bottle shape that is tall and slim with very slanted sides. Also called Reisling.

bottle shock  a temporary change in taste that sometimes occurs immediately after a wine is bottled and may last for a few weeks.

capsule  a foil or plastic covering over the top and neck of a wine bottle. Its purpose is mostly decorative, though it can keep dust and mold off the top of the cork. Also called shrink cap.

clarify  to remove cloudiness from wine before bottling. This is achieved by filtering, fining or bulk aging until it clears by itself.

cork  a stopper for a wine bottle, made from either real cork (a piece of the bark of a cork oak tree) or a synthetic material. Corks come in different widths and lengths for different size bottles. A standard 750 ml bottle takes a #9 width cork.

corker  a machine used to insert corks into bottles. Corks initially are much wider than the bottle neck, so the machine squeezes the diameter of a cork to fit and then pushes it down into the bottle.

crown caps  metal covers with crimped sides used on beer bottles, and sometimes used on Champagne bottles in place of corks because of their lower cost.

degas  (dee GAS) to stir wine before bottling to remove any carbon dioxide bubbles left over from fermentation.

fifth  a standard-sized bottle. Previously held one-fifth of a U.S. gallon, but now holds 750 ml.

finish  a bottle’s closure style, usually a choice of cork or screw top.

filtering  moving the wine through a filter in order to remove particles from the wine. Different size filter pads (usually measured in microns) remove different size particles. Filtering is often done before bottling to remove any leftover yeast in the wine.

punt  the indentation on the bottom of some wine bottles, which makes a bottle able to withstand more pressure. Punted bottles are commonly used for wine that needs aging in case fermentation should restart accidentally.

split  a bottle that holds 375 ml, half of a standard-sized bottle. May also refer to a 187 ml bottle, which is a quarter of standard-size.

stabilize  to stop fermentation so the wine can be bottled. This is achieved by filtering to remove the yeast or adding potassium sorbate to prevent the yeast from reproducing.

ullage  (UH-ledge) the airspace between the top of the wine and the bottom of the cork in a jug, carboy or wine bottle. It should ideally be one-half-inch high. Too much air may allow oxidation of the wine. Also called head space.