A Lot of bottle...
LEGEND HAS it that around 1500BC, merchants trading ‘natron’ – a naturally occurring substance composed of sodium carbonate decahydrate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium chloride and sodium sulphate – became shipwrecked on the shores of Syria.
Allegedly, they used pieces of natron to prop up their cooking utensils and were amazed at the substance that was created as the fire died down; this evidently was the first time that basic glass was manufactured. Ever since, winemakers have striven to produce the perfect glass receptacle in which to store their produce.
In the 1600s, it was discovered that the bark of
