According to Historia de los
utensilios del vino, by José
Peñín, Venice was one the first places that glass was used to contain wine, albeit as a luxury exclusive to the elites. From Italy it travelled to England, with a glass that was still rough, slightly translucent, but resistant and more accessible to people. In the middle of the century, Sir Kenelm Digby, a member of the British Court, created the first ‘modern’ glass bottle which was cylindrical with sloping shoulders, crowned by long neck, an ancestor of the present Bordeaux bottle. The English were also the first to use stoppers made of cork, which came from Spain and France. Thus, the airtight container was born, with the same properties as it has today.