It turns out that the bottling color choice depends on the country in which the wine is made, at least in part. The traditional colors used for French and German wine bottles are:
- Bordeaux: dark green for reds, light green for dry whites, clear for sweet whites.
- Burgundy and the Rhone: dark green.
- Mosel and Alsace: dark to medium green, although some producers have traditionally used amber.
- Rhine: amber, although some producers have traditionally used green.
- Champagne: Usually dark to medium green. Rosé champagnes are usually a colorless or green.
American vintners basically follow those guidelines. White Zinfandel, however, always comes in clear bottles. Clear bottles have recently become popular with white wine producers in many countries, including Greece, Canada and New Zealand. Most red wine worldwide is still bottled in green glass with the goal of protecting it from light.
What is a punt?
No, we’re not talking about American football. In wine, a punt, also known as a kick-up, refers to the dimple at the bottom of a wine bottle. There is no consensus explanation for its purpose. The more commonly cited explanations include:
- It is a historical remnant from the era when wine bottles were free-blown, using a blowpipe and pontil. This technique leaves a punt mark on the base of the bottle; by indenting the point where the pontil is attached, this scar would not scratch the table or make the bottle unstable.
- It had the function of making the bottle less likely to topple over — a bottle designed with a flat bottom only needs a small imperfection to make it unstable — the dimple historically allowed for a larger margin of error.
- It consolidates sediment deposits in a thick ring at the bottom of the bottle, preventing much/most of it from being poured into the glass.
- It increases the strength of the bottle, allowing it to hold the high pressure of sparkling wine/champagne.
- It provides a grip for riddling a bottle of sparkling wine manually in the traditional champagne production method.
Why are there so many bottle shapes?
Just like people, wine bottle shapes vary greatly. Usually, wine bottle shapes reflect the area from where the wine grape hails.
If there is a classic wine bottle shape used in the U.S., it’s the Bordeaux shape, with straight sides, and shoulders that cut in sharply towards the neck and sit high up on the bottle.
Typical wines that use this bottle shape are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, and Semillon.
The Burgundy wine bottle shape is quite different, wider at the base and a gentle transition from wine bottle neck to shoulders and into the body. The lines are very graceful and flowing. The most common wines found in Burgundy wine bottle shapes are Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.