| The wine bottle, just like anything else, is going | | | | bunch cluster. We also have different shapes, like |
| through a major change. The dawn of the 21st | | | | animals, ships, airplanes, cars, etc. This one is great |
| century brought us iPhone, Goggle, YouTube, | | | | for birthdays with any number inside. This one is |
| Facebook, Twitter and broadband Internet access. | | | | great for companies to promote themselves or a |
| Our fast lives demands instant gratification and brings | | | | product. It's a frosted bottle with a company logo on |
| with it information and sensory overload. An ever | | | | the other side visible through a window. This one is a |
| increasing segment of many societies realize that this | | | | globe on a wood stand. |
| addiction has to be managed and they take control | | | | Ivan: The ribbon around the neck has the Hungarian |
| of their lives by going back to the basics in many | | | | national colors, red, white and green. |
| areas of their life. How great it is to slow down, relax | | | | Gabor: This one on the wood stand also has a little |
| and have an exquisite glass of rare wine from an | | | | tap and grape bunch cluster. |
| even more special hand blown artistic wine bottle. | | | | From the showroom we moved to an area where |
| Sit back on your patio overlooking the lake; enjoy | | | | some of the manufacturing processes are handled. |
| the sunset, sipping your favorite wine specialty and | | | | Gabor: This is the.45 µ membrane microfilter. |
| admiring the work of art. On my recent visit to | | | | This is a bottle with 2 taps, twisted design with a |
| Hungary I had the fortune to meet one of the most | | | | small sail boat inside. This one demonstrates the |
| prominent companies producing these amazing | | | | grape harvest process. This one is about the |
| bottles. I interviewed one of the leading company in | | | | vineyard chores. |
| this field at his showroom and asked him to introduce | | | | Ivan: This would be great in Napa Valley, CA. By the |
| me to his amazing selection of decorative wine | | | | way, Napa Valley Wine Country was established in |
| bottles (see on YouTube). | | | | the early 1900's by Agoston Haraszti, a Hungarian |
| Ivan: What is special about these hand blown wine | | | | count and winemaker. |
| bottles and the world famous Hungarian wine in these | | | | After this great introduction of Gabor's operation and |
| bottles? | | | | wide variety of phenomenal, decorative and artistic |
| Gabor: We are in business for 12 years to produce | | | | hand blown wine bottles, we concluded by tasting |
| artistically shaped hand blown wine bottles filled with | | | | the content. He also mentioned the Chinese are very |
| wine. All bottles require manual labor, only certain | | | | interested his products and his goal is to make a |
| processes can be automated. Regular glass in my left | | | | strong foothold in the US as well. Continuing my |
| hand cannot be formed by hand unlike the much | | | | original thoughts, it is clear from Gabor's success that |
| higher quality and more expensive fire resistant glass | | | | people are looking for beautiful handmade luxurious |
| in my right hand. The fire retardant material is about | | | | products, something that the sophisticated Romans |
| 10 times more expensive than regular glass. After the | | | | would produce for their wealthy. Fortunately it is |
| manual labor, the glass stays in the oven on 500 | | | | available for us today and the price is very |
| °C - 600 °C (932 °F - 1112 °F) | | | | reasonable and competitive. |
| for 8 hours to relieve any stress and avoid breaking | | | | Factoid: |
| easily. | | | | - 60 million years old Fossil vines are the earliest |
| Ivan: How do you color the parts inside? | | | | scientific evidence of grapes. |
| Gabor: This bottle has a plum inside. The plum and its | | | | - Glass was invented by the Sumerian Civilization |
| leaves are made out of an even more expansive | | | | around 3000 B.C. |
| colored material to avoid any harmful paint getting | | | | - Glass is made by mixing Quartz sand (silica) and |
| into the wine. | | | | sand in very hot forms. |
| Ivan: What kind of fluid can go into the bottles? | | | | - The color of the glass is achieved by adding other |
| Gabor: To avoid discoloration the fluid has to be very | | | | chemicals to the basic ingredients. |
| clean. The wine is pasteurized and microfiltered (.20 | | | | - The term glass developed in the late Roman |
| -.45 µ). Filling the bottles at home is not | | | | Empire, originated from the word glesum. |
| recommended. We always keep samples of the | | | | - Manganese oxide makes the glass clear, a process |
| batch to prove the quality of the shipment. If the | | | | invented by the Romans in Alexandria ca. AD 100 |
| shipper does not keep the shipping specifications, we | | | | - Glassblowing, a glass forming technique that |
| have the proof. | | | | involves inflating the molten glass into a bubble, was |
| Ivan: Which bottles are you really proud of and which | | | | invented by the Phoenicians at approximately 50 B.C. |
| are the most popular? | | | | - Romans were the first to use hand blown glass |
| Gabor: I am proud of all of them; of course (laughter) | | | | bottles to store wine, a major improvement over |
| and all of them are exceptional products. Let me | | | | clay jars. |
| show you this bottle with a schooner inside. The | | | | - In 1635 when Sir Kenelam Digby invented the first |
| Yacht industry is big in the US and they might | | | | thick-walled wine bottle |
| appreciate this masterpiece. This other one has grape | | | | - Bottle making machines were invented in the 1800's. |
| bunch cluster inside the bottle and the grape is filled | | | | - In the in the late 1970s, both the United States and |
| with red wine. This one is a twisted bottle with a | | | | the European Union standardized on 750 ml wine |
| whole in the middle and a pretty grape bunch cluster | | | | bottles. |
| outside. You can also drink the red wine in the grape | | | | |