Various glass containers for wine, beer and other liquids were made in ancient Egypt as early as 1,500 BC. However, it was not until the Phoenicians in Syria invented the glassmaking pipe (and thus glassblowing) in the 2nd century BC that the Romans were able to produce glass bottles on a larger scale from the beginning of our era. The oldest wine bottle in the world is on display in a museum in Speyer (Rhineland-Palatinate). It was found in a Roman grave and dates back to the 4th century AD.

Picture left = different shapes of wine, champagne and spirits bottles from 1750 to the early 20th century. Pictures centre and right = Horse foot or onion bottle (mallet bottle).

History

Due to the fragility of glass, containers made of clay or earthenware and wooden barrels continued to be used for transport and storage until the 17th century. Wine was also not stored or marketed in small containers at that time, but almost exclusively in large containers (mainly wooden barrels).

Trade in wine & spirits

Many English companies had landholdings in Portugal (where they founded the port wine industry ), Spain (where the same applies to sherry ), Sicily (where Marsala was invented by an Englishman) and Bordeaux, each of which had a lively wine trade with the mother country. This also applied to spirits such as gin and rum. It is therefore no coincidence that the bottle for wine and alcoholic beverages was "invented" and production perfected in England.

Invention of the bottle

The English diplomat Sir Kenelm Digby (1603-1665) developed an improved production technique in 1652, but did not bother to patent it. The fame for the invention of bottles then went to John Colnett, who applied for a patent in 1661. They had a spherical body with a long neck and slowly developed into onion-shaped, short-necked vessels known as "mallets" or "horse's feet" by the beginning of the 18th century (picture above centre and right). The olive-green bottles (17 cm high, 14 cm in diameter) were made from forest glass (potash glass) in northern Germany between around 1710 and 1750 for the Dutch market.

Bottling

Despite the industrial production of glass bottles, marketing in bottles was the exception rather than the rule until well into the 20th century and was mainly only used for better qualities. In many countries, general bottling by wineries or producers only became established after the Second World War.

Cork as a closure

At this time, the use of corks as a closure was already widespread. The bottles were fitted with a bead at the top of the neck, which served to secure the stoppers attached with strings. A glass seal was often fused onto the body of the bottle, which also contained the nominal volume but no indication of the contents. This offered a certain degree of protection against fraud by bottles that were too small.

Labelling

After the advent of glass bottles in the middle of the 17th century, it was forbidden for a long time to sell wine by the bottle, and for good reason. The different sizes of the bottles would have opened the door to fraud. By the beginning of the 19th century, instead of the bulbous spherical shape (see pictures above, centre and right), the cylindrical shape that is common today (see picture on the left) prevailed because it was far more suitable for stacking the bottles. The first producer of bottles in this shape was Ricketts in the English city of Bristol, and the company held a patent for it. The first labels in today's form also came into use at that time.

Bottle types

Many countries, wine-growing regions and producers have created specific bottles in different shapes, sizes and colours to create a distinctive identity for marketing purposes.

Bottle shapes

In the German wine-growing region of Saxony, the Sachsenkeule is common, in the Rheingau region the slim, brown Schlegel bottle and in the Mosel region the same in green colour. The Schlegel bottle (tall bottle) is most commonly used for white wines in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and the French region of Alsace. Dark bottle colours protect against UV light, which causes the wine defect "Käseln" (light taint).

1 = Club bottle, 2 = Burgundy bottle, 3 = Schlegel bottle, 4 = Bocksbeutel, 5 = sparkling wine bottle(champagne bottle, sparkling wine bottle), 6 = Bordeaux bottle, 7 = Flûte à corset, 8 = Fiasco, 9 = Pot Lyonnais

Bottle designations

The Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne bottles named after regions originate from France. Others are Clavelin for Vin Jaune, the wire-wrapped Alambrado for Rioja, Bocksbeutel in Franconia (also for Armagnac), Albeisa in Piedmont for Barolo and Barbaresco or formerly the bast-wrapped Fiasco for Chianti. A complete list of different bottles with designation, use (country, region, general) and volume:

Disposable beer bottles for wine

In Germany, around 1.1 billion disposable glass bottles from the wine industry end up in the food cycle every year. The production of a single glass bottle generates around one kg of carbon dioxide. Studies show that the packaging accounts for an average of 57% of the Treibhauseffektgreenhouse gas...