photo #8422346

Presumably we can all agree that the inventor of boxed wine is a genius to whom civilization owes a great debt. But let us pause today and remember that person’s illustrious predecessor—Kenelm Digby, the inventor of the modern wine bottle.A noted scientist, philosopher, diplomat, alchemist, adventurer, and all-around intellectual, Digby was also a glass manufacturer who worked out a better way to store wine. Bladders and oak barrels were functional, of course, but once opened the wine had to be drunk quickly, before it oxidized. It’s not that no one before Digby had considered storing wine in bottles, but bottles were too fragile for storage, especially for champagne, which would cause delicate bottles to explode. Using an innovative technique to increase the temperature in coal-fired glass furnaces, Digby was able produce a far-stronger type of glass. For storing wine he fashioned the extra-strong glass into bottles with long tapered necks and kept the glass dark to protect the wine from the effects of light. Thanks to Digby’s creation, it became possible to allow port, champagne, and Bordeaux to age and improve in bottles. Kenelm Digby was born in Buckinghamshire, England on July 11, 1603, four hundred twenty-two years ago today.The portrait of Sir Kenelm Digby is by Anthony van Dyck.