The bottle: how it's made and why it’s made that way.

The bottle has a well-defined and tapered shape. Starting from the top it consists of: neck, often with a typical ring called “cercine”, shoulder, body, and base which may or may not have a typical indentation on the bottom.

The neck is the narrowest part and at its end there is the opening that allows to pour the wine.
The cercine is the ring to which, in the past, the cork was tied with strings, while nowadays metal cages for sparkling wines are common.
The shoulder has a practical function to filter the sediments during pouring, which is why it is suitable for aging wines, often red wines, while for others the curvature is less pronounced.
The body is the most extensive portion and is sometimes perfectly cylindrical, sometimes bulbous, and other times quite robust.
The base serves as a support. Often the bottom is recessed because in tradition, when blowing the glass blob, to make the bottle stand upright, the bottom was folded inward. This peculiarity has remained and now serves to retain the sediments of aged wines. It should be noted that it is not present in all bottles.

Now all that's left is to buy a nice bottle, analyze it, remember these bits of wisdom, and then… uncork it!! Cheers!

Fabio De Vecchi