Everything for trade
It's all a question of harmonization... And commercial opportunity! In the 19th centuryIt is century, those who bought the most wine were the English. They love French wine, especially that of Aquitaine, an ally of the crown since the marriage of Eleanor to King Henry II in the 12th century.It is century. Bordeaux wines sell like hot cakes. Problem is, the unit of measurement across the Channel is not the same as ours. No liter among the English: there, the gallon is king.
Another problem, a gallon being equal to 4.5 liters (4.54609 exactly), difficult to sell bottles based on this measurement. Even if we drank a lot at the time, carrying around a bottle of almost 5 liters was not a piece of cake. It was therefore necessary to do a little calculation to get everyone to agree.
The idea is simple. French winemakers began designing barrels that could hold the equivalent of 50 gallons, or about 225 liters. A round number on both sides, which suits everyone, starting with business. The operation also has a consequence: the content of a bottle is then set at 75 centiliters, because this allows 300 to be filled with a single barrel. The gallon is thus divided by six, allowing boxes of six 75 centiliter bottles to be prepared. A measure that has passed through the ages, to end up on your table.
Why green glass?
When we talk about bottles of wine, another question often comes up: why are bottles, especially red wine, mostly made with green glass? Another story of big money? Not this time. For now, it is above all a question of conservation.
Wine is a particularly fragile liquid and the slightest disturbance can disrupt its subtlety. Starting with light. With its UV rays, sunlight can create, in just fifteen minutes, a chemical reaction degrading the flavor and aromas of the alcoholic beverage. A phenomenon that some describe as a “taste of light”. Basically, it smells and tastes like sulfur, or garlic. No thanks.
How to protect your precious wine? Thanks to tinted glass bottles, notably green, a color which provides effective protection against UV rays. A means of preservation that is not always respected these days: the color of the rosé wine, for example, is so decisive in the act of purchasing that winegrowers no longer hesitate to use bottles with colorless or rosé glass, to increase sales. Even if it means adding a little twist to the taste.
