It is worth remembering that in antiquity, wines were exposed to inordinate amounts of oxygen during vinification, and most were oxidized before shipment. For this reason many wines were flavoured with herbs and even spices.

Although the secrets of glassmaking were known in Syria, well before the Romans 2000 years ago were able to produce bottles in commercial quantities for packaging perfumes and other valuable liquids. Romans invented bottle blowing. Wine bottles in quantity appeared in the 18th century and were at first crude works. Bottle size varied from 600 to 800 ml, and shapes changed according to the mood of the glassblower. Eventually the standard wine bottle capacity was established as one litre, since the lungs of an average glassblower contained sufficient air to blow that size.

When Rickett's and Co. Glassworks in Bristol England invented machine glassblowing standard cylindrical bottle shape and a variety of consistent size could be produced. At first wine bottles were embossed. Labels appeared late in the 19th century.

Over time, different regions developed specific bottle shapes to distinguish their wine on store shelves. Bordeaux is known for its high-shoulder bottles, Burgundy for slope-shoulders, Champagne for sturdiness and its punt (indentation at the bottom for strength), Alsace slim and green bottles, Provence for its distinct indented, Chianti for its fiaschi (no longer being produced), Rhine for slender brown and Mosel-Saar-Ruwer for slender green bottles and Franconia for its bocksbeutel. The shape of the bocksbeutel was copied and altered by the producer of Mateus (Sogrape), which resulted in litigation and was resolved eventually to satisfaction of both parties.

These days, wineries and marketers use any bottle shape they feel more attractive and eye catching.

Standard wine bottle size today is 750 ml even in the U S A after the beverage alcohol industry adopted metrication in 1979. This was done to help increase exports and because metric bottle size suited distilleries and wineries economically. The U S A, to this day, uses gallons, and yards albeit they are different than the Imperial measurements.

Experience shows that large format properly cellared bottles age slower, than small bottles, as in the latter contains more oxygen in relation to the volume of wine. The necks of all bottles are the same size to accommodate the standard cork diameter.

Wine consumers and collectors who like to cellar their bottles for long periods prefer large formats. Champagne manufacturers use the largest number of bottle sizes. Piccolo 187 ml, half bottle 375 ml, full bottle 750 ml, Magnum 1 ½ Litre, Jeroboam 3 L, Rheoboam 41/2 L, Metuselah 6 L, Balthasar 12 L, Nebuchadnezar 15L. Champagne bottles are named after biblical personalities. Balthasar was one of the three kings bearing gifts for Jesus, Rehoboam, King Solomon's eldest son, Jeroboam farmed the northern Kingdom of Israel and Nebuchadnezar built Babylon and conquered Jerusalem.

Burgundy shippers used the same sizes as Champagne manufacturers, but rarely expedite bottles larger than Magnum. Generally, Champagne shippers prefer to export up to magnum to distant markets. Large formats withstand vibrations badly and occasionally explode. The pressure in a champagne bottle (80lbs/inch square) is considerable. In Bordeaux shippers use all sizes up to Magnum and then continue with Marie Jeanne 2 ½ L (rarely found these days), Double-magnum 3 L, Jeroboam 4 ½ L and Imperial 6 L.

Italian wineries prefer using ½, full, magnum bottles and occasionally imperial. One-litre bottles are usually employed for less expensive screw capped wines and 500 ml a recent California invention has never caught on. Tokaji in Hungary has a distinct long neck standard 500 ml bottle.

Around the turn of the 19th to the 20th century wealthy New Yorkers would buy two bottles of Nebuchadnezar champagnes for their garden parties and have them served by horse-mounted servers to their 50 guests.

But the largest sparkling wine bottle ever containing the equivalent of 160 standard bottles (120 litres) was produced by Korbel which was displayed on the Times Square in New York to celebrate the arrival of the 21st century. It is now in the museum of the winery in California.

Now he consults and writes to increase wine, beer and liquor awareness. He conducts seminars and would be pleased to consider your requests. To peruse the list of his published books and order please contact him at hirayrberberoglu_3@sympatico.ca

Hryar Berberoglu www.littlefatwino.com