How to Choose Your Wine Bottles

Article and photos by Jill Misterka

Wine bottles come in various styles and shapes, as well many sizes and colors. We will consider some common variations in wine bottles used by both commercial and home winemakers and the advantages of each.

Common Bottle Styles

Bordeaux style bottles have pronounced “shoulders” (left bottle in Figure 1 below). This form has more of its side completely vertical, which allows the bottles to remain more stable when stacked on their sides. The extra vertical area also gives a larger space to paste labels. Bordeaux bottles are short enough to fit vertically in many cabinets and refrigerators.

Burgundy style bottles have no pronounced shoulders (center bottle in Figure 1). The curve inward starts closer to the bottom of the bottle. The lack of shoulders makes these bottles easy to clean for reuse. These, like Bordeaux bottles, have the advantages of being shorter.

Hock style, also known as Riesling, is similar to Burgundy style but taller and thinner (right bottle in Figure 1). This creates a pleasing, elegant effect that is very impressive looking. The lack of shoulders makes these bottles easy to clean for reuse.

Champagne bottles (not shown) are similar to Burgundy style bottles, but are made from thicker glass and have a higher punt to make them stronger and able to resist the internal pressure from sparkling wines. Their corks are usually secured with wire, so they have a thicker lip at the top to keep the wire on.

The French and German names of these bottles indicate the provinces where the shapes originated. The names do not necessarily indicate the type of wine they may hold.

Which style should you use? For most of us it’s a matter of personal preference and availability, but be sure to use one of the standard shapes mentioned above when entering a wine into a competition.

Figure 1–styles, from left: Bordeaux, Burgundy and Hock

Other Style Considerations

The punt, or indentation on the bottom of a bottle, purportedly makes the bottle more resistant to exploding under pressure. For this reason, those that need to be aged a long time are usually bottled with a punt (resulting in the belief held by some that a punted bottle indicates a quality wine). Wines that don’t require aging may be put into bottles with flat bottoms, which are less expensive.

When ordering bottles you’ll have to choose your closure style, called the “finish,” generally a choice between screw top and cork top. Make sure you have the proper closures for any bottles you obtain. Use caution if putting a cork into a screw-top bottle, as some screw tops have slanted necks that will prevent a cork from sealing properly.

Common Bottle Sizes

Standard-size wine bottles contain 750 milliliters and will come twelve bottles per case.

Smaller bottles that contain 375 ml, half the size of a standard bottle, are commonly used for ice wine or dessert wines. Bottles holding187 ml, a quarter of a standard bottle, are useful for samples or favors and are the smallest size that may be closed with a cork. Both of these sizes come in Bordeaux, Burgundy, Hock, Champagne and other styles and will have 24 bottles per case.

A larger size sometimes encountered is the 1.5 liter magnum, often used for sparkling wine. Less expensive wines often come in gallon, 3-liter or 4-liter screw-top jugs.

Bottle size may impact the cork size needed. Most standard-shaped 750 ml and 375 ml bottles require a standard #9 width cork, while Champagne bottles and 187 ml bottles require a #7 width cork. Choose a cork length proportional to the height of the bottle and its neck.

Again, be sure to check the entry requirements for any competitions you plan to enter before deciding on your bottle. The New York State Fair competition requires that entries be in standard-shaped 750 ml or 375 ml bottles.

Varieties of Color

Wine bottles made of clear glass, known as flint color, were more traditionally used for white wines. Various shades of green glass were developed for red wines, because colored glass protects the wine from the damage that light exposure can cause during aging.

However, either clear or color bottles may be used for red wines that are intended to be consumed within a couple of years, and some people prefer clear bottles to better show off the clarity and color of a wine.

There are many eye-catching bottle colors currently available, some of which are shown in Figure 2. By the way, don’t confuse Cham­­pagne color with Champagne bottle style.

Figure 2 – colors, from left: cobalt blue, amber, Champagne, emerald and dead-leaf green

A home winemaker may save money by buying transition glass, bottles produced while the bottle-making equipment is being switched from one color to another. The color may be unusual, but the price may be significantly lower.

Use dark glass for wines that need aging; otherwise use any color you prefer. You spent months making your homemade wine and you may be aging it many more months or years. Why not choose a good home that will preserve and show it off?

Resources for this article came from waterloocontainer.com, June 2004 WineMaker magazine, and grapestompers.com.

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