The Shape Of Wine: Its Packaging Evolution (routledge Studies Of Gastronomy, Food And Drink)

"Grape wine has been produced for at least 4,000 years, having been aged, stored and transported in every conceivable type of vessel. Its seductiveness has been enhanced by this packaging: primarily three strikingly different containers - amphorae, wooden barrels and glass bottles. Henry H. Work brings extensive wine experience as a cooper, working with wine barrels and living in California's Napa Valley to provide a richly detailed and vivid account of wine containers through the ages. This book delves into the history, evolution, and present use of containers, vessels, and stoppers; from animal skin sacks to barrels, from glass bottles to upstart packaging such as wine casks, and even aluminium cans. It considers the advantages and weaknesses of their construction, designs and labels, methods of shipment and storage, as well as their impact on marketing wine to customers. This is an enlightening and innovative read which draws on the most current archaeological research, scientific data and wine business trends. It is richly peppered throughout with the author's own visits to many of the locations explored in the book, bringing history to life. This book will appeal to individuals within the wine industry, undergraduates in the fields of history, archaeology, food and hospitality, as well as all people interested in wine." Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Dedication 6 Table of Contents 8 List of figures 10 List of tables 12 List of explorations 13 Acknowledgements 15 Introduction 16 1. Animal hide sacks and early ceramic pots and jugs 19 Wild grapes 19 What to put it in? 19 Making wine in a clay jar 23 Middle Eastern wine 24 The start of commercial winemaking 25 Wine: a growing industry 26 Winemaking around the Mediterranean 28 Back to the Middle East 31 Conclusion 35 Notes 35 References 35 2. Amphorae 37 That woman could put on a grand party 37 Ancient trade routes 40 The amphorae 42 Amphorae production 53 A mountain of discarded amphorae 54 Wine for Romans and others 57 Wine for the Roman troops 60 Decline in use of amphorae 61 Comparing apples to apples 63 Conclusion 63 Note 64 References 64 3. Wooden barrels: origins to 1500 CE 67 The earliest barrels 67 Origins of the barrel 69 What we do know – Marseille as an example 71 Making wine in Marseille 74 Where to look for the ancient barrels 75 The cooperage industry commences 77 Barrels in the Middle Ages 78 Further problems 80 Barrels in the age of sail 81 Conclusion 82 Note 82 References 82 4. Wooden barrels: from 1500 CE to current times 84 Increasing demand for barrels, both for wine and other commodities 84 Constructing barrels and ships 86 Oak for wine barrels 88 Oak forests 90 Barrels and European wine making 90 Wine, only one of many products put into the barrels 91 Current uses of wine barrels 96 Barrel wood 98 Flavours from oak wine barrels 100 Oak and its terroir 100 Cooperage manufacturing influences 101 Wine making influences 104 Conclusion 108 References 109 5. Glass bottles and other glass vessels 110 A 1,700-year-old bottle of wine 110 The beginnings of glass 111 Roman bottle development 114 The early glass factories 116 The Dark Ages – for glass and everything else 117 The Renaissance of glass bottle making 118 European glass bottles 119 Fuelling the glass furnaces 120 Bottle size 123 Glass bottles in Bordeaux 124 Development of wine bottles in America 125 The shapes and colour of wine bottles 127 Conclusion 130 References 130 6. Large fermenting and storage vessels for wine 133 Dolia 133 Making the dolia 135 Moving 136 Protecting the outside of the dolia 136 Lining the inside 136 Cleaning 137 Covers for the opening 137 Accessing the wine 137 Locations of dolia 138 Impacting the wine 141 Notes of other wineries using dolium-style tanks 142 Concrete tanks 145 Wooden tanks 145 Stainless steel tanks 149 Conclusion 151 References 151 7. Alternative packaging: bag-in-box, plastic bottles and aluminium cans 153 Alternative packaging 153 What is bag-in-box? 155 Who invented bag in the box? And where? 157 Bag-in-box basics 159 Plastic bottles 160 A look at the plastic itself 163 Aluminium cans 164 Laminated paperboard 166 Conclusion 166 Notes 166 References 166 8. Wine container stoppers and closures 168 Cork 168 Screwcaps – origins and use 177 Composite and synthetic corks 181 Capsules 181 Shift to the new closures 182 Seals for other wine vessels 182 Conclusion 186 References 186 9. Labels for wine containers 188 Historical wine container labelling 188 Barrel labelling 192 Paper labels for bottles 193 The consumer’s take on labels 200 Wine label fraud 202 Labelling for biodynamic and organic wines 203 Conclusion 205 References 205 10. Moving wine around the world 207 Moving wine on land – amphorae and dolia 207 Celtic transportation 207 Moving wine on the sea 210 Moving large quantities of wine on land – barrels and glass bottles 216 Shift from barrels to glass bottles 221 Other modern-day wine movements 221 Glass in cases, packed on pallets, shipped in trucks, and containers 222 Sustainability: individualized vs bulk packaging 223 Conclusion 223 Note 223 References 224 11 Wine packaging sustainability: recycling and waste 226 Sustainability 226 Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand 228 Recycling various wine containers 228 The future of recycling 233 Wine barrels 233 Additional steps wineries are taking to be more sustainable 234 Individualized containers versus bulk? 235 Conclusion 236 References 238 Index 240