Wine: a bottle designed by Dali?

[Mike Buckley]

Winery: Kourtaki
Brand: Calliga Rubis (sometimes misspelled "Ruby")
Year: Non-vintage
Grape: 100% Agiorgitiko (also called St. George)
Location: Cephalonia, Greece

I bought this bottle -- the only one of its kind in the store -- only because of its unique shape that I wanted to photograph. It reminds me of something Salvador Dali might include in one of his paintings. If I was a half-decent designer (I'm not) and if I knew how to properly use the Liquify tool (I don't), I would be tempted to add a melted watch to the photo in a style that is so often found in Dali's paintings.

The odd shape of the wine bottle, its embossing near the top, and the materials the labels are made of made this bottle as difficult to photograph as any bottle I've dealt with. Add to that that both the glass and labels are in really bad condition. The bottle was so difficult to photograph in the constraints of my makeshift studio that I almost wish I hadn't come across it at the store.

The top label displays the following quote attributed to Homer, though it's too small to read at the size displayed here: "The flame of wit is lit deep in a bottle."

Notice that this is a non-vintage wine. A non-vintage wine is made from juice from grapes grown in multiple years. Though non-vintage wines are generally cheaper than comparable wines attributed to a particular year, a distinct advantage is that the non-vintage wines tend to be a little more consistent in quality. That's because the winemaker can mix and match grape juice from year to year.

The grape used in this wine is very popular for making red wine in Greece.

Please display at the largest size to appreciate the contours of the bottle.

[William W]

Nice Study of a difficult Subject, Mike.

I particularly like tonal and hue gradations which were chosen for the background light.

*

The bottle might appear 'straight' after the contents are consumed.

WW

[Shadowman]

Nicely captured.

[John 2]

Black and gold with a well chosen BG colour makes for a good image Mike. I have never explored Greek wines. They are not generally available here but the few I have tried on holiday, have generally been a bit sweet and heavy for my palette but I'm sure that they are not all like that.

[deetheturk]

Lovely capture Mike!

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you, everyone!

John: I've never had a Greek wine that is sweet, but that could be because I generally shy away from all sweet wines. I've had about six Greek wines, all of them dry.

Bill: The bottle might appear more crooked than ever after the wine is consumed.

[NorthernFocus]

Nicely photographed, Mike. And interesting commentary to go along with it. While in France we went on a tour of a winery. They explained a lot about vintage, non-vintage, blends, advantages of oak aging, etc. As a technical person I found the process quite fascinating.

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, Dan. You might also be interested in the technical aspects and origins of making retsina, a Greek wine made today by adding pine resin to the juice during the fermentation process.

[chauncey]

Mike...the only wines I ever drank were German ice wines that I drank chilled, beads of perspiration would have been commonplace. Might that be the case with your bottle?

[Downrigger]

I think you did a spectacular job, Mike. Still the eye doesn't really quite want to believe, or know how to process some of these lines. There is for instance the appearance that the bottle is leaning (back, to right). I can't imagine how to address that unless including some sort(s) of rectilinear context, but that would spoil your spare style.

I wonder if each bottle of this wine is unique.

[Mike Buckley]

The only beads of perspiration were on me, Chauncey. I was wondering why my makeshift studio was so hot until I realized that we had turned off the air conditioning in the house because of pleasant outside temperatures the previous few days.

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, Mark!

Still the eye doesn't really quite want to believe, or know how to process some of these lines. There is for instance the appearance that the bottle is leaning (back, to right).

The front area of the shoulder is somewhat flat and leans a little to the rear. The neck is off-center, giving the impression that it is leaning to the right. Hopefully the perspective and lighting that I used helps bring all of that out.

I wonder if each bottle of this wine is unique.

Other photos that I've seen indicate that all of the bottles are the same.

There is an Italian wine whose name immediately escapes me that is always stored in a bottle with an unusual shape, though not unsymmetrical like this one if I remember correctly. I probably ought to photograph one soon while I remember the details of how I dealt with the characteristics of this Greek bottle.

[Brownbear]

Gorgeous image.... I love the gold and black colours, the highlights down the side and the graduation of the light.

Beautiful bottle, which reminds me of Chateauneuf de Pape.

[judiscott]

There is an Italian wine whose name immediately escapes me that is always stored in a bottle with an unusual shape, though not unsymmetrical like this one if I remember correctly. I probably ought to photograph one soon while I remember the details of how I dealt with the characteristics of this Greek bottle.

I was thinking of the Italian wine when I saw this. It is Gattinara.

[Mike Buckley]

Yes, Gattinara! Thanks, Judi!

Thanks also to Christina. You do like bottles that are embossed.

[Brownbear]

Yes, I think they are beautiful, especially when they are photographed by you.

[Suzan J]

Hi Mike: The title of your thread really grabbed my attention! I just had to look. I agree that the background perfectly complements the subject. I find that slightly less than perfect subjects are more interesting and this one is nice and quirky. I also like the quote on the label and I will be sure to spout out this sentence the next time I hoist a glass. All those around me will be suitably impressed.

[Mike Buckley]

All those around me will be suitably impressed.

I would think so, especially if you attribute it to Homer.

[Mike Buckley]

My wife and I drank half of the bottle tonight with dinner. Though I had a different wine that I know well waiting in the wings just in case this wine was terrible, there was no need to open it. I was concerned because I have never really loved any wine made from this grape and the bottle was really inexpensive. Glad to know it was perfectly acceptable and might even be a particularly good value considering the price.

[William W]

What was the menu for dinner?