Hunt wrote:

What I have complaints about are the proliferation of all sorts of bottle-
shapes by predominantly US producers. To me, the perfect shape for a wine
bottle is the Bordeaux 0.75. With its straight sides, and constant (or nearly
so) diameter, it fits nicely into a case, whether wooden, paste-board, or
Styrofoam. Better yet, it stores in the cellar, regardless of whether one
places it in a single-bottle niche, a diamond-bin, or even in a square or
rectangular bin. It doesn't rock, and doesn't have to balance on a tiny point
of contact. OK, I know that Burgundy, and the Rhône, have put their wine into
the soft-shouldered bottle, whether red, or white. That is fine. That is
tradition. So long as the outside diameter doesn't exceed that of the Bordeaux
bottle, except by a small margin. A note: most of my Burgundies and all of my
Rhône wines fit into my single-bottle niches. Bubblies are an eexception, that
I just have to take into account, and had several storage areas built just for
them, just like my magnums.

Lately, however, several wineries (predominantly in the US, CA) have begun
pushing the envelope, or bottle, as it were. Some producers, like William
Foley, have taken to using Burgundy bottles that are much wider at their
largest diameter, than normal Burgundy bottles. These "cute" shapes might
stand out in the wine shop, provided that they display them upright.
Ravenswood's Icon is another wine, in a similar, though differently
dimensioned bottle. There are many more miscreants along these lines, but I
don't recall the other suspects off the top of my head. These bottles will NOT
fit into a single-bottle rack - they're too damned big. They will not stack in
a diamond, or rectangular bin, except on the top row, and then they teeter
precariously. So far, I've not had any mishaps, but the time IS coming. I have
bins, that only have one row of these monstrosities, balanced on a pin, and I
can't use the rest of the space. They would fit into a magnum slot, but then
the depth of the slot is a problem.

Hah! You have just hit upon my current pet peeve. It's not just
limited to CA, though it's certainly more prevalent there. However, all
recent vintages of Ch. de Beaucastel and Ch. de la Gardine no longer fit
in my S. Rhone rack. And so many high end CA cabs (and, increasingly,
Zins) are put into bottles that are easily 50% more massive than the
traditional B'dx bottle. As their shoulders are wider than their base,
they don't stack well either. My biggest concern, however, is that the
increased weight of these bottles will lead to long-term instability of
my racking. Those racks weren't designed for so much extra glass. Grrrr...

Mark Lipton