“Size (that of the bottle) doesn’t matter, but a Magnum is better” are words I’ve heard since I was a little girl. I realised why over the years: bigger bottles preserve the wine better and allow it to evolve better.My family has maintained strong ties with Piedmontese traditions and one of these links wine to new life: it is the gift that a grandfather or father gives to celebrate the birth of an heir; a bottle of a great wine from the vintage in which the baby who receives it is born.
I was born in 1969 and my brother Giuseppe in 1970. We received our grandfather’s Barbera, from the vintage of our birth year, in a big bottle. A hand-blown “ottavino di brenta” and a hand-blown “quarto di brenta”, glass bottles in Piedmontese measurements equating to 6.5 and 12.5 litres. Our names were on the labels, along with the words: “Reserve this wine an end worthy of its birth.”
“We opened these bottles at the party to celebrate our 18th birthdays and it was a wonderful gift to share with those we love and who love us.
We opened “outsized” bottles at our weddings and at our children’s christenings. I must confess, I like to mark the most important family moments with great wines in big bottles… I’m a traditionalist.
I like La Monella at birthday parties: it’s a wine that brings joy. Il Bacialè (the espousal) is perfect for engagement parties or first dates, because it is a wine that bodes well, determined. Bricco dell’Uccellone is the wine to be opened as time goes by, like Ai Suma, and is a guarantee, a refined and reliable wine.
After the Second World War, it was hard to find big bottle and they were made of blown glass created by artisans. They were fragile and sometimes irregular in shape, a characteristic that made them unique and beautiful. In the family, privately, we still collect them. Sometimes you come across empty ones at antiques markets.
Today we still use bottles of this size but they are made with a mould and tested to avoid breakage during filling and transport.
When possible, we also carry out special, dedicated projects. We have been asked to meet particularly demanding requirements, with XXL bottles: Barbera “Braida” has also been served in authentic glass giants known by the name of Primato, with a “record” capacity of 27 litres!“
Raffaella Bologna
“Size (that of the bottle) doesn’t matter, but a Magnum is better” are words I’ve heard since I was a little girl. I realised why over the years: bigger bottles preserve the wine better and allow it to evolve better.
My family has maintained strong ties with Piedmontese traditions and one of these links wine to new life: it is the gift that a grandfather or father gives to celebrate the birth of an heir; a bottle of a great wine from the vintage in which the baby who receives it is born.
I was born in 1969 and my brother Giuseppe in 1970. We received our grandfather’s Barbera, from the vintage of our birth year, in a big bottle. A hand-blown “ottavino di brenta” and a hand-blown “quarto di brenta”, glass bottles in Piedmontese measurements equating to 6.5 and 12.5 litres. Our names were on the labels, along with the words: “Reserve this wine an end worthy of its birth.”
“We opened these bottles at the party to celebrate our 18th birthdays and it was a wonderful gift to share with those we love and who love us.
We opened “outsized” bottles at our weddings and at our children’s christenings. I must confess, I like to mark the most important family moments with great wines in big bottles… I’m a traditionalist.
I like La Monella at birthday parties: it’s a wine that brings joy. Il Bacialè (the espousal) is perfect for engagement parties or first dates, because it is a wine that bodes well, determined. Bricco dell’Uccellone is the wine to be opened as time goes by, like Ai Suma, and is a guarantee, a refined and reliable wine.
After the Second World War, it was hard to find big bottle and they were made of blown glass created by artisans. They were fragile and sometimes irregular in shape, a characteristic that made them unique and beautiful. In the family, privately, we still collect them. Sometimes you come across empty ones at antiques markets.
Today we still use bottles of this size but they are made with a mould and tested to avoid breakage during filling and transport.
When possible, we also carry out special, dedicated projects. We have been asked to meet particularly demanding requirements, with XXL bottles: Barbera “Braida” has also been served in authentic glass giants known by the name of Primato, with a “record” capacity of 27 litres!”
Raffaella Bologna