Question and comments on wine bottle size and shape (long)

I don't think this is a US problem. More and more low end wine companies are using bottle design as a marketing tool. There are non-symmetric bottles from France, very tall Chianti bottles from Italy, strange things from Argentina. Lets not forget a bottle with a basket on the bottom and even a bottle in the shape of a fish. If you can't sell the wine based on taste, sell it with a different bottle design.

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Is the problem, fundamentally, that manufacturers now use these gimmick bottles, or that the consumers who buy them respond to gimmick marketing rather than to the content?

Max

I suspect a little of both...

Mathew

You can add me to list of the folks irritated by this. I currently have 4 separate kinds of racks, only one will handle the biggest (La Gardine and the like). It's a strange no-name 60 bottle wire one which isn't very efficient, taking up almost as much space as a 152 bottle grid model. And they're impossible in diamond bins. GGRRRRRR. Dale

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Well, with Stelvin closures we'll not need racks any more, do we? Anders

Max, That's a good question. All of bottles, with which I have a problem are "fine" wines, or at least preceived as such by me. The bottle is not part of the hook in my case. As a matter of fact, I'm starting to pass on some well recommended wines, or even ones that I have tasted, if their bottle is such that storage is suspect. These are not the gimmick bottles, but rather bottles with much larger diameters, extreme tapers, or maybe extra length, though that is less of a problem, provided that other dimensions are not out of line.

If the wine is to be consumed on, or near the day of purchase, I have fewer problems with them. Anything for long-term storage creates a tough situation. If it is a marketing gimmick, then it's backfiring, in my case.

Hunt

I never thought of THAT! Maybe that is where this is all headed.

Hunt

While it is no doubt true that now there are many wine bottles too fat to fit in standard wine racks for single 750ml Bordeaux bottles, there have long been many fine wines in fat bottles. A prime example is Romanee-Conti. All of the DRC wines bottles are too fat to fit in my single bottle racks. They are not alone, as some Burgundy from others has used fat bottles in the past, and some still do. Sometimes these fat bottles and Champagne will fit in magnum racks. The most difficult of all to rack I know of is the Bocksbeutel that has been used to bottle wines in the Franken region of Germany for likely hundreds of years. I have one metal rack of shelves spaced closely together to store such bottles and other such unusual shapes in a single layer. The Bocksbeutel is at least flat enough on two sides that it will not roll around on a flat surface. For bottles that tend to roll, a few cheap wooden clothes pins can have their upper ends cut off to make wedges to keep problem bottles in place.

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(Thought I'd snip this since there have been so many previous replies.... the most offensive of all of these (IMHO) is Insignia. Not only is the d**m bottle different sizes and shapes, but it changes every blasted year for the past 3 or 4. I've just about decided to quit buying for this reason alone (okay, that and the ever increasing price!)

GRRRRRRRRR!

Gary

Gary,

I have not received my allocation of the current release of Insignia, but (so far at least), they all fit well into my racking system. Because I usually get a case, I use the double-depth slots below my counter for these. I have felt that the bottles were quite heavy, but had not been offended by their shape, or size. I'll stack some of these up, next to each other and see what comes of it. Dang, I just hadn't noticed this one. Now, I've recently gotten some Cab Francs, and a few other red blends, that were about 3/4" longer (taller) than other B'dux bottles. These don't pose a problem for my system, it's the large dia. non-parallel side ones that drive me to drink. I also noticed that Conundrum's bottle seems to have grown. The dia. is about normal for B'dux, but it too is a bit taller - maybe 1/2".

Oh winemakers, please have mercy on us, those who love and collect your art. Hunt

I'll take that problem away from you anytime, they'll fit just perfectly in my space. No charge. ;-)

Mike

Mike Tommasi, Six Fours, France email link