There are a number of things to consider when one takes up the subject of wine bottles. Their shape, of course, their capacity, and the manner in which they are sealed so that the precious contents are not in danger of release unless that is what is intended. But for me the most impressive aspect of the regular 75 centilitre bottle is its longevity, and ubiquity. It seems that this container has been around for millennia. 

            This volume of wine is perfect for consumption by two people if they have also the enjoyment of a meal and a conversation over it, while it is ideal for one person if there is no companion other than, for example, a good book when the meal is under way.

            Of course, there are exceptions to the rules. There always are. Take the shape. While there is almost consensus by wine producers that their nectar should be supplied in a regular cylindrical glass container with a cross sectional diameter that is roughly that of the breath of an adult closed fist, a certain Portuguese vineyard, with a speciality in rosé wine, long ago broke away from that accord, and began to supply theirs in bottles that have a strange, elliptical bulk, the greatest consequence of which has been their inability to be placed in conventional wine racks of the sort that most people use outside of the catering trades, and indeed inside them as well.

            There has long been debate within the ranks of connoisseurs about the merits and demerits of cork versus screwcap for the sealing of the bottle. Traditionalists, of which there are many in places like France, regard the screwcap in much the same way as a medieval bishop might have regarded a heretic. On the other hand, wine imbibers of a more pragmatic bent welcome the metal interloper because there is, in its use, no danger of the chemical reaction that can sometimes result in the contents being ‘corked’ and thereby rendered undrinkable.

            As in many aspects of life, it seems, you pays your money and you takes your choice.