Fill level (wine bottle)
Among level or filling level understands enology , the height of the liquid level in a wine bottle .
Changes in the level
In freshly filled bottles, only a very small amount of air is trapped in the bottle neck between the cork base and the liquid level (usually 1 cm or less). During storage it then because of the never completely tight connection between cork and bottle neck is usually in a slight shrinkage ( Engl. Ullage ) by evaporation , because even the best cork is not so elastic that it rough completely to the microscopic The surface of the bottle neck fits snugly. There is minimal gas exchange.
However, the more carefully the wine is stored and the higher the quality of the cork, the lower and slower the loss. A wine sealed with a high-quality cork that is properly stored in a cellar with high humidity hardly suffers any significant loss in the first ten years, after which the loss gradually accelerates. If the shrinkage is noticeably high for the age of the wine, this is usually an indicator of a damaged cork or incorrect storage.
Bordeaux bottle fill level
The filling level of a wine bottle is usually referred to with the following English terms or their abbreviations and refers to bottles of the type of a Bordeaux bottle:
- High fill (hf)
- the wine has not experienced any visible loss of fluid.
- Into Neck (in)
- Base Neck (bn)
- the wine level is still the same width as when it was bottled and has only sunk slightly (or was filled in low by the manufacturer). The goods are safe to buy or drink.
- High shoulder (hs)
- Top shoulder (ts)
- the liquid level at the beginning of the shoulder of a wine bottle. The mirror widens only slightly. This is acceptable for wines older than 20 years.
- Upper shoulder (us)
- High Mid Shoulder (h. (T.) Ms)
- the point between “high” and “mid shoulder”. This is normal for a wine over 30 years old. There is a slight risk of oxidation.
- Mid shoulder (ms)
- the area in the middle of the bottle shoulder where it gradually merges back into the vertical. This is a natural decline in wines over 40 years old. Mid shoulder is always a sign of an aging cork. The risk of oxidation is still manageable, but not unlikely.
- Low shoulder (ls)
- the end of the shoulder. This filling level is only acceptable for exceptionally sought-after and rare wines. The wine should have been re-corked years ago. There is a very high risk of oxidation.
- Below shoulder (bs)
- the point at which the bottle walls run parallel to each other again. The risk of oxidation is close to 100%.
Fill level with other bottles
For bottles with other shapes (e.g. Burgundy , Riesling, etc.), it is difficult or even impossible to describe them using the shoulder shape . Here the level is usually described by the distance between the wine level and the lower edge of the cork. It should also be noted that, especially with Burgundy wines, the filling level of a bottle has a slightly different informative value than that of a Bordeaux wine. A fill level of 7 cm in a Burgundy wine that is over 50 years old only indicates a relatively low risk. A fill level below 5 cm would even be excellent for such a wine.
General rules
In general, however, the greater the amount of air in the bottle, the greater the risk of oxidation . Bottles with a low filling level can, in exceptional cases, also taste exceptionally good. However, this applies almost without exception to the greatest wines and vintages in the world.
There is one exception to the oxidation rule, however: Madeira is a wine that is already oxidized by definition. Fill levels are not as informative here as with other wines.
Influence of the cork
Like all organic substances, a cork loses its suppleness with age. Although an excellent, long cork can survive for up to a century, it is advisable to drink a bottle with a broken cork in good time or to have it re-corked.
A new corking can be done by yourself or by a wine dealer with the appropriate tools. However, this makes it difficult or impossible to prove the original origin, even if the original cork is often kept for this purpose. Optimal is the new corking of the wine by the original manufacturer. However, this requires expensive logistical efforts and is also rejected by some manufacturers in order not to subsequently authorize any counterfeit wine. When re-corking, the bottle is either refilled to the highest level with similar wine from the same manufacturer (ideally - if available - with wine of the same vintage). Alternatively, the original filling level can also be achieved by adding sterile glass balls, so that the wine in the bottle remains completely unadulterated.