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Wine:30

What’s in a bottle?

Although wine making dates back thousands of years, bottling wine in glass bottles is a relatively recent development that can be traced back to the Roman Empire. The first glass bottles were often pear-shaped and very fragile, requiring wire mesh or woven straw, (yes, like those cheap Chianti bottles), to give the glass additional strength. Over time, glass making techniques improved and soon vintners found that with proper sealing, wines could be stored and aged in glass bottles for longer periods of time.

As bottling wine became more common, wine-producing regions began developing their own styles and colors of glass bottles, partly out of necessity, and partly to create market identity. Following is a list of the most common bottle styles you will find on the shelves of your local wine store:

Bordeaux: Straight sides and tall shoulders (for trapping sediment in the red wines), with dark green glass for the dry reds, lighter green for the dry whites and, for the sweet whites, clear glass.

Burgundy: Gently sloping shoulders with both red and white wines in similar green glass. Typically, these bottles are sturdier, with a slightly fatter girth than other wine bottles.

Rhone: Similar in style to the Burgundy, but not as “fat.” In addition, some may bear a coat of arms on the neck, particularly Châteauneuf du Pape. The traditional Côtes du Rhône bottle is similar in shape, but with more angular sloping shoulders.

Champagne: Thick glass, gently sloping shoulders and a deep punt (the indentation on the underside) are necessary as the pressure inside the bottle is 80-90psi (three times the pressure inside an average car tire).

Mosel and Alsace: A slender bottle, narrower than other styles, also much taller, with a very gentle slope to the shoulders. Green glass suggests either the Mosel in Germany, or Alsace in France.

Rhine: Similar in shape to the Mosel/Alsace bottle. The main distinguishing feature is the glass, which is traditionally colored brown.

As for bottle sizes, in 1979 the wine industry standardized all wine bottles based on the metric system. The following list represents the current legal sizes that can be sold in the United States, as well as the common names for the larger format bottles that you may see from time to time.

Split:

• 1/4 Bottle

• 187 Milliliters

Half or Demi-bouteille:

• 1/2 Bottle

• 
375 Milliliters

Bottle
:

• 750 Milliliters


• 25.4 Ounces

Magnum:

• 
Two Bottles

• 
1.5 Liters

Jeroboam – King of Israel in 9th Century BC:

• Four Bottles


• Three Liters

Rehoboam – Son of Solomon and King of Israel in 10th Century BC:

• Six Bottles

• 4.5 Liters

Methuselah – Named after the biblical patriarch who lived 969 years:

• Eight 
Bottles

• 
Six Liters

Salmanazar – Named after an Assyrian king that lived in the 9th Century BC
:

• 12 Bottles


• 9 Liters

Balthazar – Named after a regent of Babylon, living in the 6th Century BC
:

• 16 Bottles


• 12 Liters

Nebuchadnezzar – The king of Babylon who lived in the 6th Century BC
:

• 20 Bottles

• 
15 Liters

Melchior – One of the wise men:

• 
24 Bottles

• 
18 Liters

A White and A Red Blend To Try:

• Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc/Viognier Blend, California, 2007

Appearance: Very pale in color and clear

Aroma: Soft floral nose with a hint of green apple and peach

Flavors: Turns to a melon note with some citrus tones filling in at the end

Finishing Notes: Well balanced and fun, very interesting and enjoyable white

Where To Try: The Whistling Swan and Mission Grille

Where To Buy: Madison Avenue Wine Shop and Main Street Market

• Dry Creek Mariner Cabernet Sauvignon/Malbec/Merlot/Cabernet Franc/Petit Verdot Blend, Dry Creek Valley, 2004

Appearance: Rich dark purplish red

Aroma: Intense nose of chocolate, herb, dark berry and currant

Flavors: Concentrated berry and mocha flavors from start to finish

Finishing Notes: Long and full-bodied, with all the lush flavors carrying through

Where To Try: Mission Grille

Where To Buy: Madison Avenue Wine Shop and Main Street Market

In response to the Wine:30 “Greener Wines” column from the August 21 – August 28 issue of the Pulse, Dave Callsen from Main Street Market has written to report that Main Street carries products from the following green wineries:

• Alma Rose

• Benzinger

• Bonny Doon

• Bontera

• Cakebread

• Cline Cellars

• Cono Sur

• Ferrari-Carano

• Frey

• Frog’s Leap

• Grgich Hills Estate

• Joseph Phelps

• Nevada County Wine Guild

• OKO

• Pircas Negras

• Red Truck Wines

• Releaf

• Rodney Strong

• Rubicon

• Sterling

• Sweetwater Sustainable Land Co.

• Tablas Creek

• Wild Hog

Information about “Where to Try” and “Where to Buy” these selected wines was provided by the local wine purveyors and vendors. If you happen to also serve or sell these wines, email [email protected].

WINE:30 is written by Karl Bradley and Jody Wuollett. Karl is the general manager and self-proclaimed “sous” sommelier for the Mission Grille. Former restaurant executive and Door County native Jody is happily under-employed as a Mission Grille food server and a member of the local band Northbound. They are both long time residents and first time contributors to the Peninsula Pulse.