From half bottles to (useless) giant sizes, here's why the container is also important in wine

The standardisation of the format has very concrete commercial origins. The most convincing explanation is linked to the hegemony of English merchants who supplied themselves in Bordeaux, where wine was sold in 225-litre barrels, equal to 50 gallons or exactly 300 bottles. A practical calculation that set the standard and still conditions the way we drink today.

Of all the formats,the most popular among enthusiasts remains the magnum. Not only as a matter of scenography, but for a precise technical reason: in large sizes wine evolves more slowly and often better, thanks to a more favourable ratio between liquid and oxygen. The famous quip that 'the ideal size for drinking is the magnum (when there are two of you and one of you is sick)' makes one smile, but it tells a simple truth: the magnum works, and it works for all types, from reds to whites to bubbles.

The discourse is different for the even larger formats, from the Jeroboam to the top, with those biblical names that seem to come out of a genealogy rather than a great cellar. Beautiful bottles, but it would take Maradona's wedding to finish them and the risk is that they turn into furnishing accessories, condemned to wait for an occasion that never comes. The wine is there, the occasion is not.

At the opposite extreme are the half bottles and small formats, long considered minor and now finally revalued. Perfect for those who drink little, for those who want to taste without excess, for a dinner for two or alone, they tell of an idea of consumption that is more conscious and free from the anxiety of finishing everything just because the bottle is open. Eventhe half-litre, trattoria and osteria format, remains a popular classic: practical, convivial, without useless reverence.

In recent years, the debate on containers has become increasingly intertwined with the debate on sustainability so not only how grapes are grown, but also how wine is packaged and transported. Today, lightweight glass bottles are one of the most interesting solutions. When a standard bottle weighs as much as a Jeroboam, the suspicion is legitimate: often, if too much importance is attached to the container, it is the content that does not stand up to scrutiny.

Alternative materials to glass are also being explored, such asaluminium or tetrapack. It is still a long way off because wine has its own times and liturgies, just as happened with alternative closures that are still struggling to be accepted in Italy for cultural reasons. It is difficult to imagine them for fine wines, but they make more and more sense for everyday wines to be drunk without too much superstructure (although, even I am not very convinced by them).

After all, the wine container is not a detail, but a statement of intent. It says a lot about who makes that wine, how they imagine it will be drunk and who will buy it. Magnum, half litre, flask: there is no absolute correct format, there is just the right one for the moment.

Sister Franca on the third floor - who knows nothing about wine - pours fearlessly from her carafe, she has always done so. If the format of a bottle is designed for an event you will never do, that format makes no sense. Wine is meant to be in the glass, not to decorate the living room waiting for a better day.