By Julie Carpentier
Rare trophies…
_
As all seasoned wine-lovers know, bigger bottles are actually about quality, rather than quantity. The benefits of wines in large formats are many: they age more slowly than the standard 75cl bottle and they make wonderful wedding presents and long-lasting anniversary gifts! For these reasons, the demand for bigger wine bottles – or large formats, as the insiders call them – has grown substantially in the past few decades.
Wines come in a infinity of styles of bottles from big, full bodied to light and small. The main change in sizes and shapes for wine bottles began taking place in the 18th century. The different wine bottle shapes and sizes started taking place when one discovered the benefit of corks as sealing agents and as a consequence, the ability for the wines to age. Then it was discovered that larger bottles not only looked better, they could also change the taste of a wine. This ability to change took place because the larger bottles allowed the wine to age and develop over longer periods of time than the standard current glass bottles.
Why? Large format wine bottles tend to be more resistant to temperature fluctuations. The larger volume of liquid in the bottle takes longer to warm or cool and is therefore more resistant to temperature changes that could potentially damage a smaller bottle of wine. The thicker glass of a large format bottle also offers better UV protection for the wine.
Apart from their imposing appearance and presence, large format wine bottles offer many benefits, both to the wine inside and to the person enjoying them. It is precisely for these reasons that every serious wine collector should be captivated by the opportunity to enhance his wine cellar with some of these rare trophies.
“Under the Vine” Wine o’clock
Tuesday 16th of May at 2pm
