Different Types of Wine Bottles that Every Sommelier Should Know

Different Types of Wine Bottles that Every Sommelier Should Know

For wine enthusiasts, there are a lot of factors that need to be considered for a certain wine to be called excellent. It's not just the taste, style, and label alone. Sommeliers are also particular in the bottle sizes of wines because it matters a lot in making customized wine cellars at home or for business purposes.

To better understand the importance of knowing the variety of wine bottles, listed below are the different kinds of shapes and sizes of wine bottles and their purpose. Take a read!

Do the Size and Shapes of Wine Bottles Matter?
The size or shape of wine bottles does not affect the quality or taste of the wine. However, knowing their sizes and shapes will give you a clue about their packaging. And it is easier for you to identify the wine that you like to buy without reading its label.

Although there are many varieties of wine available in the market, their bottles have few specifics when it comes to shapes. By some counts, wine bottles have twelve basic shapes, not including artistic or historical variations.

For a casual American wine drinker, however, these wines usually come in three basic shapes. These are Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Alsace. Below are their definitions and purpose.

Bordeaux Bottle
It is the most common bottle that many wine manufacturers use, and you will see most of these in wine labels found at Sokolin and other reputable online wine retailers.

The body of this bottle is cylindrical, and it has straight sides and high shoulders. The common varieties of wines that use this kind of bottle are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot Blends.

Alsace Bottle
The most common bottle size and shape is the Alsace bottle. Many wine manufacturers call this bottle as germanic because it is tall and thin. Compared to other wine bottles, it is the tallest and thinnest bottle you will find among wine bottles.

This kind of bottle is used in bottling Riesling German wines and usually comes in green or brown shades. Riesling wines are sweet and normally used as an aperitif for desserts.

Burgundy Bottle
This kind of bottle has a longer neck compared to other bottles, with a sloping shoulder that can be likened to a cone.

Its glass is thicker and wider, unlike Bordeaux bottles. Wine manufacturers such as Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir are using this kind of bottle.

Other Wine Bottles You Should Know

According to the Wine and Spirit Education website, there are 12 types of bottles that wine manufacturers are using. Below are the list and its definition.

Champagne Bottles
These bottles are more substantial and thicker compared to the regular Burgundy bottle. Champagne bottles are designed to be heavy and thick to avoid high pressure and to allow the production of sparkling wines.

Port Bottles
Port bottles look like a burgundy bottle, but the only difference is that it has a bulb. The bulb will trap the excessive sediments when you pour wine in your glass to make it tastier.

Provence Bottle
These bottles look like a bowling pin or an hourglass. It is called the Provence bottle because it originated in Cotes de Provence, which is famous for producing world-class rose wines. Nowadays, the demand for rose wines is rising so you will see a lot of these in the supermarket when buying a bottle of wine.

Additional Information to Know
Ever wondered why wine bottles have a hollow bottom? In case you don't know, it is commonly known as a punt.

Actually, it does not contribute to the quality and taste of the wine, but it has a purpose. To make the wine production faster and more convenient, wine manufacturers decided to make the bottle of wine to be concave.

The punts have something to do with sparkling wines as well. It controls the pressure inside the bottle and lifts the suction. When this process takes place, the wine will sparkle once you pour it to your favorite wine glass.

Punted wine bottles were also an indication that they're well-made. But nowadays, punts and wine quality have little to do with one another as most manufacturers use punted bottles for practical purposes.

Takeaway
To know a lot of things about your favorite drinks such as wines will make you appreciate its taste more. For sommeliers, everything about wines is significant, particularly on how it tastes and how it was made, and that includes the bottles being used to store the wine.

Knowing the different types and sizes of wine bottles will help you identify their variety without reading the label. Even if you're not a sommelier yourself or an enthusiast, but just a casual drinker who happens to like wine, knowing about these basics will help you improve or widen your wine preference later on.

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