This last aspect is often not considered, but the color of a bottle of wine has very precise meanings. Below, we answer the question: Why do wine bottles have different colors?

The history of the colors of wine bottles

Since wine began to be stored and marketed in glass bottles the dominant color has been green, in all its nuances, for a purely technical issue, linked to the processing of this material.

In the past, glass was not processed to obtain colors like green and behind the choice of this color there were no scientific studies or marketing studies. Simply the glass had green color because of impurities that were present in this material.

Before the industrialization of the sector, it was impossible to get bottles of the same color. All the bottles had colors similar to green but often tending to brown. The color of the bottle was difficult to control.

The evolution of the glass processing industry and the studies on the packaging of wine bottles has contributed to the definition of the colors of the bottles. A choice that today we can define scientific. Thanks to the use of particular substances at the time of processing this material, it is possible to obtain variable colors, to be reproduced on an infinite number of bottles.

Today, wine bottles can be transparent, but above all green-brown or however dark. Why? Bottles of wine have a color tending to green or brown for two reasons.

The first reason is of a practical nature: it turned out that some colors, especially dark ones, protect against sunlight. The color of the wine bottles allows a better storage of the liquid.

The second reason is commercial and aesthetic: some studies have shown that green is a color considered particularly attractive by consumers.

In any case, if we add these two aspects, we understand why that set of colors, which refer to green, are the ones preferred for wine bottles.

How does the color of the bottle favor the storage of wine?

Exposure of wine to sunlight is harmful. That is why among the main tips for storing nectar is to put the bottle in a dark place.

Light can activate dangerous chemical transformations that alter the quality of wine, making it unpleasant. Exposure to light also promotes the oxidation of the liquid which compromises its organoleptic characteristics. The use of a glass of a particular color preserves the wine from this unpleasant inconvenience. Certain colors, especially dark ones, protect the liquid from solar radiation.

Some of the substances used for the production of glass and designed to protect the wine from sunlight naturally give the material a green/ brown color.

This is why these colors are typical of wine bottles ...

What are the colors of wine bottles?

The colors of the wine bottles range from white-transparent, with minimal protection from sunlight, to dark brown/black, with maximum protection from sunlight. It all depends on the type of wine to be bottled. In general, light-coloured bottles are reserved for wines that do not require aging, while dark bottles are reserved for long-aging wines.

In particular:

- Transparent bottles are used to store fresh white wines that do not require a period of aging. These bottles provide less protection from sunlight, but the short time in which white wines must be drunk prevents the degradation of the liquid.

- Green bottles, in all its different shades and nuances, are used to store white wines that require a period of aging and those red wines that age in the bottle. In this case, the dark bottle protects the wine from solar radiation.

- Brown or black bottles are those that provide absolute protection from sunlight. They are used for red wines that require a long aging.

Even a detail so particular and apparently obvious hides an interesting explanation. How many curiosities in wine ...