13. Bürgerspital Wine Bottle

50 Bowery-Archeological Study-Chrysalis-Burgerspital Wine BottlePhotos by Chrysalis Archeological Consultants

The Bürgerspital Vineyard in Germany is one of the oldest vineyards in Europe still in production, first planted in the year 1334. The flat, round bottles from Bürgerspital, known as Bocksbeutel, were based on the shape of a leather sack pouch and are quite similar in shape today. In fact, according to the Bürgerspital website “In 1726 the Council of the City of Würzburg decided that the ‘Bocksbeutel’ be the mark of quality compared with poorly produced wines. At the ‘Council’s behest, the first sealed specimens of the Bocksbeutel are stored in Bürgerspital’s cellars and the true, the pure, unadulterated wine, rapidly and brilliantly triumphed’, reported the District Archivist Sebastian Göbl.” Loorya reports that there are currently attempts to import this wine to the United States.