The shape of wine bottles to be specific. When I first started studying wine, I often wondered why certain wines were typically in certain a style bottle. Cabernet is almost always in a shouldered bottle, while Pinot Noir is typically in the same bottle as Chardonnay. So, it obviuosly has nothing to do with the color of the wine. What gives? Who made these rules and why do most wine producers seem to ahere to them so willingly?

This is one of those indicators of just how much historical tradition has influenced the worlds winemaking practices. Bottle tradition goes back to just that. And if you're browsing French wine feeling a bit confused, these bottles can even give you a clue as to what is inside if you're not familiar with French place names.

The shouldered bottle is the Bordeaux bottle. The predominant grape varietals grown in Bordeaux France are Cabernet Sauviginon, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc. Winemakers around the world typically use this bottle for those varietals. This bottle's shoulders make it ideal for red wines that throw sediment during aging as it serves as a barrier during pouring.

The bottle with the gently sloping shoulders is the Burgundy bottle. The predominant grapes in Burgundy france are Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. You'll find that most winemakers use these bottles for those two varietals around the world.

A third bottle you will commonly see is the Rhine/Alsace/Mosel bottle. It is tall and slender with steeply sloped shoulders, usually done in brown or green glass and sometimes even blue or red. You see most German wines as well as French wines from the Alsace region in this style bottle. Domestic wines connected with these two places such as Riesling and Gewurztraminer typically use this bottle as well.

Of course these traditions are just that. Some producers do actually depart from them. I've seen Chardonnay in Bordeaux bottles and Cabernet Sauvignon in Burgundy bottles. However, whenever you're shopping for wine, you'll dominantly see these bottle styles containing thier traditional varietals.