Wine Bottles

• Wine stores best in glass. White wine bottles are always light in color, usually clear or light green. Varieties of whites such as riesling and pinot grigio have long necks and slope down to a cylindrical, wide base. The glass is also thicker for better insulation. Red wine bottles are very dark in color and are traditionally tall and slim, with a smaller punt or barrel at its base. The shoulders of the bottle, which are directly below the bottle's neck, are sharper to collect residue that builds up in red wines.

Containers for Traveling with Wine

• Several well-designed carriers allow you to take wine with you on a trip. You can pour your wine into reusable, on-the-go bottles if you are traveling with wine you've already opened. You can find reusable canisters at department stores and stores specializing in housewares. If taking uncorked wine, try a wine case with a padded inside lining. Wooden containers have rustic appeal, or you can keep your wine bottles even safer with plastic. The Travel With Wine website has a hard-shell plastic case with wheels and handles that can hold from 2 to 6 bottles of wine.

Containers for Making Wine

• You will need old-fashioned oak tubs and clay jugs if you are attempting to ferment your own wine. After you have sterilized your containers, you can start making and bottling your own wine. But be careful -- making wine incorrectly can result in a drink that tastes terrible, or even worse, is unhealthy to drink.

Wine in a Box

• These days, wine does not have to be confined to glass. Boxed wine, where the wine is contained in a plastic bag with a spout and enclosed within cardboard, is common, popular, low maintenance and more affordable than wine in bottles. Boxed wine makes traveling with wine much easier as well, since you do not have to worry about breaking bottles.