Does the size and weight of a wine bottle matter?

[larry_schaffer]

But the shape is important.

Early on, I had notions of bottling Riesling in just normal flint bordeaux bottles to get away from the “stigma of Blue Nun”. But I’ve come back - Riesling belongs in a Hock-shaped bottle. It’s classic, it’s traditional, it’s right. Likewise, it feels wrong to me to put Syrah in a Bordeaux bottle - it belongs in a Bourgogne/Rhone-shaped bottle.

So as much as it would simplify to have just one bottle for all wines, I don’t think it’s doable without losing something.

I disagree, my friend - but that’s what makes it possible for us all to exist. ‘Tradition’ is important to me as long as it makes ‘practical’ sense - but having a number of different shaped bottles for different wines does not to me.

Cheers.

[Alex_N]

Fun if you’re buying and pouring soon, sucky if you’re storing or shipping them. Long, burgundy, sparkling and some fat bottles don’t fit in wine storage boxes unless you put a few upside-down (and long ones flat out don’t fit). The only one I wonder about is sparkling and what can be done to the shape of those bottles so they don’t have to be so bottom-fat.

[Richard_Albert]

Worst carbon footprint I have encountered were the six packs of Hundred Acre wines. It was not just their heavy bottles, but a ridiculously thick, heavy wooden box which was their shipper, close in weight to a case of lighter weight glass.
Hopefully, they are more aware in recent times.

[ChrisL]

The other side of the spectrum isn’t great either. Giovanni Canonica uses perhaps the cheapest / thinnest glass I’ve ever come across. A hard flick could probably break a bottle.

[Greg_K]

But the shape is important.

Early on, I had notions of bottling Riesling in just normal flint bordeaux bottles to get away from the “stigma of Blue Nun”. But I’ve come back - Riesling belongs in a Hock-shaped bottle. It’s classic, it’s traditional, it’s right. Likewise, it feels wrong to me to put Syrah in a Bordeaux bottle - it belongs in a Bourgogne/Rhone-shaped bottle.

So as much as it would simplify to have just one bottle for all wines, I don’t think it’s doable without losing something.

I disagree, my friend - but that’s what makes it possible for us all to exist. ‘Tradition’ is important to me as long as it makes ‘practical’ sense - but having a number of different shaped bottles for different wines does not to me.

Cheers.

+1. Unless periodically startling my dog because the lower shelf in my Eurocave has shifted again due to certain weird shaped bottles is part of the “tradition”.

[robert_creth]

My first thought when I saw the thread title was Turley. Over weight and difficult to to store. Only producer that I stopped buying because of the bottle.

[Howard_Cooper]

oh…unlikely to be pinot based on the bottle shape…

[ChrisJames]

Extra large bottles are a PITA (or back) to lug up and down stairs, cost more to ship, won’t fit in many of my racks, and give the illusion of more wine, leading to disappointment when the heavy bottle turns out to be empty.

Alas, one of my favorite producers uses over-sized bottles that don’t fit in my wine racks. So I have boxes and boxes of aging wines sitting in shipping boxes.

[alan_weinberg]

how about these square wine bottles: Are These New Square Wine Bottles Messing With Success? - Food Republic

[Markus_S]

greatest bottle ever is the 500ml ones radikon uses. looks great (love the elegant neck) and an appropriate amount of wine for almost any situation. does any other producer also use them?

Edi Kante uses a 500ml also, but the neck is really narrow. He uses the slimmest width corks I’ve come across.

[Andrew_K]

The worst are Olivier Bernstein. I’m guessing they are trying to justify their excessively overpriced offerings by putting them in the biggest bottles with the longest corks. They don’t fit much of anywhere, I can barely get them in my oversized 3-3/4" cooler slots.

[Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m]

My first thought when I saw the thread title was Turley. Over weight and difficult to to store. Only producer that I stopped buying because of the bottle.

Two things:

1. +1
2. They have switched, or are about to switch, to far more reasonable bottles (there’s still room for improvement, but the transition to the new bottles will likely get me back buying some of their wines).

[SteveG]

oh…unlikely to be pinot based on the bottle shape…

Funny you should say that . . .

I will be bottling up my first pinots later this year most likely and I will be bottling them in a ‘bordeaux’-shaped glass bottle. Why some why ask? Why not, I say - all of my other bottlings are in the exact same bottle, including a dry Gewurztraminer - why should this one be any different?

Cheers

Bravo! Bordeaux bottles stack safely and take up less space in my racks, go for it!

[Victor_Hong]

Only the wine glass weight matters, especially when empty (meaning unused).

[Charlie_Carnes]

I HATE too big, too thick, and too long bottles. I do like the traditional shaped bottles for the different grapes/blends/regions.

[Paul_Miller]

My first thought when I saw the thread title was Turley. Over weight and difficult to to store. Only producer that I stopped buying because of the bottle.

Damn. I was just about to post this. Scrolled back just to make sure. Figured first person to mention Turley would win a prize.

[Yao_C]

I pine for my one bottle of 1967 Ridge Monte Bello, which was a spectacularly compact Bordeaux shape. I could probably fit 5 more bottles in my compact fridge if they were all in that form factor. IMO any producer that doesn’t have to rely on shelf presence to sell through ought to focus on efficiency of packaging (of course that would be too rational for the wine world )

[Will_Clements]

Dirty and Rowdy bottles are almost perfect

[Alex_N]

how about these square wine bottles: Are These New Square Wine Bottles Messing With Success? - Food Republic

If the labels peel off they’d be good for that homemade olive oil project I never started or even thought about .

[PeterH]

how about these square wine bottles: Are These New Square Wine Bottles Messing With Success? - Food Republic

They would stack much tighter, but are they lighter? Square bottles usually need to be heavier for the same volume due to the thicker corners.