Reader questions
Some 750ml wine bottles, even if they are empty, still seem to be full of wine. What is the reason for making the wine bottle thick and heavy? Does a heavy bottle mean good quality?
In this regard, someone interviewed a number of professionals to hear their views on heavy wine bottles.
Restaurant: Value for money is more important
If you have a wine cellar, heavy bottles can be a real headache as they are not quite the same size as the regular 750ml and often require special racks. The environmental problems these bottles cause are also thought-provoking.
Ian Smith, commercial director of a British restaurant chain, said: “While more consumers are becoming more environmentally conscious, the desire to reduce the weight of wine bottles is more for price reasons.
“Nowadays, people’s enthusiasm for luxury consumption is waning, and customers who come to eat are more inclined to order wines with high cost-effectiveness. Therefore, restaurants are more concerned about how to maintain considerable profits in the case of rising operating costs. Bottled wine tends to be expensive, and it’s certainly not cheap on the wine list.”
But Ian admits that there are still many people who judge the quality of wine by the weight of the bottle. In high-end restaurants around the world, many guests will preconceive the preconceived idea that the wine bottle is light and the quality of the wine must be average.
But Ian added: “Nevertheless, our restaurants are still leaning towards lighter, lower cost bottles. They also have a lower impact on the environment.”
High-end wine merchants: heavy wine bottles have a place
The person in charge of a high-end wine retail store in London said: It is normal for customers to like wines that have a “sense of presence” on the table.
“Nowadays, people are faced with a wide variety of wines, and a hefty bottle with a good label design is often the ‘magic bullet’ that encourages customers to buy. Wine is a very tactile commodity, and people like thick glass because it feels like it. history and heritage.”
“Although some wine bottles are outrageously heavy, it must be admitted that heavy wine bottles have their place in the market and will not disappear in a short time.”
Winery: reducing costs starts with packaging
Winemakers have a different view on heavy wine bottles: instead of spending money on heavy wine bottles, it is better to let good wine age in the cellar for a longer time.
The chief winemaker of a well-known Chilean winery pointed out: “Although the packaging of top wines is also important, good packaging does not mean good wine.”
“The wine itself is the most important thing. I always remind our accounting department: if you want to reduce costs, think about packaging first, not the wine itself.”
Post time: Jul-19-2022