It is known that before the appearance of bottles, wine was stored and served in earthen jugs and to this day clay remains the most suitable material for this drink – it protects the wine from light, maintains the desired temperature and does not disturb the structure of the aroma.
It is not surprising that almost the entire history of utensils for storing and selling wine is precisely the history of the earthen jug. Perhaps our enterprising ancestors discussed and implemented more than one idea of creating containers for a grape drink, but little has survived in the excavations except clay, which confirms its popularity and durability.
Scientists suggest that ancient people could use the skin and processed and dried insides of animals and fish to store drinks. But such material quickly fell into disrepair, acquired a rotten aroma from moisture, fermented milk and spoiled the wine.
Amphora
The first real glassware made of clay for wine, a jug with two handles (Latin amphora) is an amphora. Amphorae appeared before writing, the shape of the jug underwent constant changes and only in the 18th century acquired the outlines that we know – a tall, elongated jug with a narrow neck and a sharp bottom. In amphorae not only wine was stored, but also beer. However, wine was stored horizontally and beer vertically. This information was given to people by a find on the territory of Iran – the famous “Canaanite jug”, more than 5 thousand years old.
There are also more ancient finds, jugs, in which wine has turned to stone from time to time – such bottles are about 7 thousand years old.
Amphorae were convenient for storing and transporting water, oil, cereals. Due to their properties to preserve products in their original form, do not allow foreign odors to pass to them and do not react with the contents, at the same time “breathe”, amphorae have long been the most popular and convenient container. And there was a lot of material for creating jugs – clay was available in large quantities.
The classic amphora had a pointed bottom and had a capacity of about 30 liters. On the ships that transported the jugs, there were special wooden supports for a sharp bottom, and amphorae were fastened with ropes to each other. They also made small amphoras for storing aromatic oils and very large ones for the reserves of a city or fortress. Because of their fragility, amphorae were more often used as a disposable container for one shipment. Not far from Rome there is the Monte Testaccio hill, which consists of 53 million amphorae fragments. Attempts have been made to produce reusable amphorae by covering the clay material with glaze.
The amphorae were hermetically sealed with resin and clay; even during excavations, sealed jugs of wine untouched by time and external factors were found. The wine in such finds, despite the skepticism of scientists, is fit for consumption and tastes good. The found ancient wine is sold to private collections, and you can taste a glass of the ancient drink by paying a rather large sum, about 25 thousand euros.
Initially, the contents of the ancient amphorae were impossible to determine, since there were no markings on the jugs. But some ancient amphorae dating back to earlier times began to contain markings. The overseers, who in ancient times were responsible for the safety of bottles, began to leave drawings on amphoras – a fish or a girl with a vine. A little later, information about the harvest of the product, the grape variety, the properties and taste of the wine, the volume and age of the drinks began to be placed on the bottles.
Oak barrels
Another popular material for storing wine was wood, which also retained the taste and aroma of the drink. And oak barrels even added astringency and a unique aroma to it. Only difficulties in the manufacture of wooden dishes made this material less and less common, especially when easy-to-manufacture clay stepped on the heels.
In the Middle Ages, however, when the emphasis was not on quantity, but on the quality of the drink, wood was still preferred. The tannins that make up this material made the wine noble and healthier. The emerging drinks, cognac and port, were infused exclusively in wooden barrels, and until now, despite the development of the glass and plastic tableware industry, wooden barrels are held in high esteem by winemakers.
Glassware
6 thousand years ago, the secrets of glass making became known to people. The Egyptians made small glass bottles for incense and cosmetics. It is noteworthy that various figures were made of glass – fruits, animals, humans, painting the material in different colors. The volume of the glass container was small.
During the Middle Ages, the glass business faded a little, since brilliant bright trinkets were considered to be pampering and an immaculate business. In the 13th century, the Roman Empire returned the fashion to glass, so knowledge of glassblowing was restored in Venice, and it was strictly forbidden to share it, even to the point of deprivation of life. During this period, the skill of creating glassware improved, new forms and quality appeared, the strength of glass containers improved significantly. Manufacturing technologies have made it possible to reduce the cost of glassware, and the improved quality has expanded the “territory” of its use.
In the middle of the 17th century, the British actively used glass bottles for storing and selling medicines – because of the attractive appearance, medicines began to sell better. Wine merchants pondered this trend and decided to take the risk of pouring wine into glass bottles, sticking attractive labels on them. And since the association with medicine still lingered, wine also made people want to buy a drink that would surely lift your spirits and improve your health.
Thanks to a glass bottle, wine from the category of an everyday banal drink has become an elite drink, revered, worthy of a festive table. Wine began to be collected, and to this day there is wine from the late 18th – early 19th centuries.
In the 20s of the 19th century, the glass bottle became such a popular alcohol container that bottle factories could not cope with numerous orders.
In 1824, a new technology for making glass under pressure appeared, and at the end of the century, a machine for making bottles. Since then, the bottle has become the cheapest and most popular container, at the same time, the uniqueness and originality of hand-made bottles has been lost.
750 ml – such a standard appeared due to the fact that such a volume of a bottle could be blown out by a professional glass blower, on the other hand, such a measure appeared from the “wrong” damask – half an eighth of a bucket, 0,76875 liters.
With the launch of automatic production, the bottles began to differ in shape – rectangular, conical, the width and thickness of the walls were also different. A color difference appeared, a transparent bottle was considered the simplest, green and amber were a sign of average quality of the drink, and red and blue shades were an elite drink.
As each company tried to create its own dissimilar bottle, shape and color became the hallmark of a particular brand. Alcoholic beverages began to be marked with an emblem, as well as to indicate the location of the plant and the year of manufacture on them. A special mark of quality was the image of a two-headed eagle – a royal award denoting a recognized quality.
Alternative packaging
Over time, PET bottles appeared. They are incredibly lightweight, durable and recyclable. They are closed with plastic or aluminum stoppers, neutral to the acidic environment of wine.
Another type of packaging that is in demand due to its cheapness, simplicity and environmental friendliness is cardboard boxes that contain either a PET bottle or a lavsan bag with a reflective surface. Wine in such bottles is not stored for a long time, but it is convenient to take it with you and dispose of empty packaging.
Today, glass remains the best container for wine, but drinks aged in wooden barrels are also appreciated. All packages coexist peacefully on the shelves of our stores and are designed for different incomes of customers.