He says that the devil is in the details... which always have a reason and meaning. We wondered why the bottom of the wine bottle is not flat but instead concave. Let's see the reasons together, in three questions and as many simple answers.
The bottle is the glass container of different colours, shapes and thicknesses in which the wine rests for years. Especially for long-aged wines, it is entrusted with a great responsibility: promoting the perfect evolution of the precious liquid, with its colours, aromas and flavors that make us love it so much. Let's see why the bottom of the wine bottle is concave.
1. When did recessed bottoms start to be used in wine bottles?
The practice of adopting the recessed bottom of the bottle is very ancient, the first evidence dates back to the 4th century AD .
2. Are there any exceptions to the recessed bottom of wine bottles?
The Champagne Louis Roederer "Cristal" , created in 1876 for Alexander II, Tsar of Russia from 1855 to 1881: the Tsars had a great passion for the wines of this house and had requested that the bottle be transparent and have a flat bottom. He feared that in the bell-shaped bottom of the bottle, or inside it, someone might hide something to murder him.
3. What are the reasons for the concave bottom of the bottles?
- In the past, bottles were produced by hand and worked by blowing: a roundness developed at the end which was pushed inwards, taking on the well-known concave shape, which gave stability to the bottle.
- Today glass bottles are industrially produced, but the traditional concave shape is maintained because it plays an important role: the curved bottom helps collect any deposits in a smaller space, preventing residues from dispersing into the glass once poured the wine. In case there are grounds, with the help of the decanter you can serve the wine without putting them into circulation too much.
- Pay attention: the concave bottom is more accentuated in the case of Champagne: in fact, it improves its ability to cushion shocks and makes the bottle more resistant to the pressure that develops inside during secondary fermentation.
- The concave bottom also allows the bottles to cool more quickly : in contact with ice, the wine drops in temperature more rapidly than with a hypothetical flat bottom, due to the greater contact surface between the bottle and the ice itself.
- And finally, the concave bottom facilitates the serving of wine because it helps the gesture of pouring the wine . By inserting your thumb into the hollow, serving becomes easier and you also avoid heating the bottle, try it for yourself. Cheers!
